November-December , 2021 | @ green

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Azman Nasir

Davis Chong

CPNE addresses Malaysia ’ s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral by 2050 as part of the 12th Malaysia Plan

BY FATIHAH MANAF

To realise this goal , policymakers , supported by industry players and individuals , need to develop a clear plan . They also need to predict the future of the energy transition to drive and accelerate these decarbonisation efforts .

Timely with the announcement , a discussion ‘ Clean power & new energy predictions and transitions in 2021 and beyond ’ was held during the Clean Power New Energy 2021 . The panel discussion featured industry players , namely Dr Chen Shiun , Davis Chong and Ynse De Boer .

Moderator Azman Nasir , the Regional Director of Energy Industries Council , began the session by asking a question on policies and programmes that would propel renewable energy projects in the country .

“ We can come up with as many policies and as many programmes as possible . However , these ( policies and programmes ) alone are not going to get us there . We need the support and understanding from the wider community ,” said Chen , the Vice President for Rural Electrification at Sarawak Energy Berhad .

Chen believed there should be an emphasis on climate change awareness . Support from all sectors , especially the financial sector , was equally important to move climate initiatives forward . He emphasised that customers , as the users of energy , had a more significant part to play .

“ They ( customers ), in a way , have to demand change , saying we would like to have better energy and cleaner energy ,” he added .

Boer , Vice president , Global Lead Sustainability at Envision Digital , opined that moving immediately to policies and programmes was like jumping the gun . He emphasised the need for a plan to provide the purpose to the said policies and procedures .

“ To be perfectly honest , I haven ’ t seen that comprehensive plan entirely yet . That would also include things like , for example , Southeast Asia ’ s connected grid . What role would that play ?

“ In terms of policies and procedures , the two most effective ones that I ’ ve seen in other parts of the world are putting a price on carbon , a carbon tax and removal of subsidies for fossil fuels ,” said Boer .

Chong , President of Malaysia Photovoltaic Industry Association ( MPIA ), stated there was significant development in terms of utility-related policies in Malaysia . However , he believed the country still could have better policies than the existing ones .

“ We ’ ve seen the development from LSS1 to LSS4 , how mature is the tender policy from the Energy Commission . Then , we ’ ve seen how well developed - from FiT to NEM 3.0 ,” said Chong , adding that Malaysia could set a more ambitious goal than the 31 per cent target .

Transition towards clean energy Chong agreed the energy trilemma was a genuine concern in the energy transition . However , rather than seeing it as a roadblock or bottleneck to the change , people need to think of it as a challenge that can be overcome .

“ Now I see that we have a research team . We have government agencies and government ministries that are putting effort to tackle those concerns . We need to move a bit faster ,” he opined .

In the context of Sarawak , Chen said : “ We are still a developing economy . We have the aspiration that by 2030 , we will achieve the living standard of a developed nation . So , what do we need to get there ? We need investment and good jobs for our people . And energy plays a huge role in creating these opportunities .”

Regarding the energy trilemma , Chen believed affordability was the most crucial element among the three as it involved the people . He said the focus would lie on how resources could create opportunities for the region ’ s economic growth .

“ We have this climate goal , but we should not forget about the people . We need to make sure that the three things ( security , sustainability , affordability ) that we mentioned are there ,” Chen said .

“ Many years ago , if there ’ s one big difference in this part of the world , it ’ s the access to energy and access to affordable energy . It ’ s laudable what Sarawak Energy has been doing in that space ,” Boer added .

Touching on digitalisation opportunities in the energy sector , Boer said : “ We all know about the issues with the intermittency of renewable energy .

“ We all know about the importance of predicting all of that and orchestrating that intermittency , both on the supply side of the renewable energy value chain and the demand side .

“ So , being able to predict all of that , and then to be able to orchestrate all of that is absolutely imperative .”

He then mentioned that grid congestion was an issue everywhere and not just exclusive to Malaysia . In adding more renewable energy into the grid , Boer said it was a constant catch-up game where companies and regulators had to solve one issue after another .

“ I guess that ’ s the reality of the energy transition ,” he said . — @ Green

Ynse De Boer

Dr Chen Shiun

We can come up with as many policies and as many programmes as possible . However , these ( policies and programmes ) alone are not going to get us there . We need the support and understanding from the wider community .”

– Dr Chen Shiun