BY G . LALCHAND

Some other business entities took advantage of the situation to use EFB for composting to produce organic fertiliser and to produce biomass ( EFB ) pellets , either as standard pellets or in torrified form , for export to countries such as Japan , South Korea and Taiwan , which sought to reduce their carbon emissions by increasing their use of biofuels .”

Sadly the encouraging commitments then received short shrift from the bulk of the COP members in the following years due to the realities of their economic development aspirations , further influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic .

Hence , the ambitious initiatives “ promised ” did not materialise , and the hoped-for pace of action has fallen far short of the rate needed globally to meet the desired targets .

Subsequent COPs continued reinforcing the need to enhance international climate variability management initiatives to get back on track to achieve the PA objective .

COP 26 in Glasgow in 2021 was seen as the “ last best chance ” to reset the global mitigation agenda to avoid the impending severe consequences of worsening climate variability .

Malaysia has repeatedly confirmed its commitment to do its share in the energy transition from the current predominant fossil fuel use to a more significant share of RE use .

A sustained commitment has been made to achieve a higher percentage of RE in its electricity generation mix to 40 per cent by 2035 and to reduce its “ emission intensity ” by 45 per cent by 2030 .

Among the key initiatives are reducing the use of fossil fuels for overall energy needs and replacing them with renewable energy ( RE ) sources .

More recently , attention has shifted to the potential use of green hydrogen as a silver bullet for the desired decarbonisation of global energy needs in the decades left before 2050 . ( Green hydrogen use was addressed in the last edition of this publication ).

WHAT IS MALAYSIA ’ S STATUS IN THIS GLOBAL ENDEAVOUR ?

Malaysia was reported to have abundant biomass waste from the palm oil plantation industry , some of which ended up in landfills , shortening the planned life of those landfills besides emitting polluting gases from their decomposition and leachate into the soil or nearby waterways .

Electricity generation from RE resources was planned with the SREP ( Small Renewable Energy Project ) programme from 2001 , following the formulation of the National Five Fuel Policy .

This initiative was also supported by a UNDP / GEF ( United Nations Development Program / Global Environment Facility ) Biogen project to establish an EFB ( Empty Fruit Bunches ) fired “ Demo Project ” to demonstrate the practicality and viability of such biomass power plants .

The SREP promotion was launched with high expectations of success but failed to take off for various reasons until the enactment of the RE Act in 2011 ( which incorporated attractive Feed in Tariff [ FiT ] rates ).

Not withstanding the shortfall in the SREP implementation , some RE project developers of commercial EFB-fired RE plants established and operated their

plants , particularly in Sabah , even before the “ Demo Project ” was established .

Some other business entities took advantage of the situation to use EFB for composting to produce organic fertiliser and to produce biomass ( EFB ) pellets , either as standard pellets or in torrified form , for export to countries such as Japan , South Korea and Taiwan , which sought to reduce their carbon emissions by increasing their use of biofuels .

These initiatives needed lower capex

investment than RE power plants and gave better revenue returns .

Biomass and biogas RE was seriously promoted in Malaysia by enacting the RE Act 2011 and simultaneously establishing SEDA ( Sustainable Energy Development Authority ).

SEDA formulated RE development plans , which projected accelerated development of some RE technologies by providing attractive FiT rates , as shown below .