@ green | November-December , 2021

Authority has engaged public and private stakeholders through implementation of sustainable energy programmes

Lukanisman Awang Sauni

BY KHIRTINI K KUMARAN

SEDA Chairman Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the Authority ’ s critical role was to administer and manage the implementation of the Feed-in Tariff ( FiT ) mechanism , mandated under the Renewable Energy Act 2011 [ Act 725 ].

SEDA celebrated its 10th anniversary in September . Established in 2011 , SEDA is a statutory body tasked to drive and support the nation ’ s sustainable energy ( S E ) agenda .

Growth in the past decade

The growth of renewable energy , he said , could easily be tracked by the establishment of several policies such as the Fifth-Fuel policy and Renewable Energy Act ( RE Act 2011 ) and later the SEDA Act 2011 , which have become an essential catalyst to the generation of RE in Malaysia .

For example , the implementation of the FiT programme in Malaysia , under the RE Act 2011 , had benefitted 10,344 entities .

Lukanisman also shared that several RE projects developments supported under the FiT programme , proven to provide sustainability and socio-economics benefits to the nation , were also recognised and successfully selected as the winner during both National Energy Award ( NEA ) and ASEAN Energy Award ( AEA ).

In 2016 , SEDA was also mandated as the implementing agency for Net Energy Metering ( NEM ) mechanism to accelerate the rooftop solar industry . And as of the end of 2020 , the quota of 500MW has been fully taken up , which benefits over 5,000 applicants .

“ Looking at the overwhelming demand for this programme , the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources ( KeTSA ) has announced the launching of NEM 3.0 in January 2021 to facilitate the market growth ,” said Lukanisman .

In addition to playing a pivotal role in implementing the FiT and NEM , SEDA has expanded its scope of services in human capital investment within both the RE and energy efficiency ( EE ) sectors .

“ These include addressing the competency gap for solar PV technology and conducting workshops on biomass , biogas and small hydro as well as developing and implementing energy management and efficiency training and renewable energy training .

“ All of which successively led to numerous collaborations and introduction of SEDA ’ s SE programmes and initiatives that are in place today ,” he explained .

Malaysia on track

According to Lukanisman , Malaysia ’ s on the right track to achieve its national target of 31 per cent by 2025 and 40 per cent by 2035 . It is based on the current trajectory of 23 per cent installed mix capacity as of 2020 .

“ With the ongoing programmes such as FiT , NEM , Large Scale Solar ( by the Energy Commission ), among others , we are optimistic about attaining the set targets .

“ Malaysia is progressively developing the growth of RE and yet at the same time cautiously ensuring the Energy Trilemma of environment , affordability and system stability to be addressed in tandem with one another .

“ Currently , the deployment of RE projects in operation has able to operate within the obligations under the respective commercial agreement i . e . Power Purchase Agreement ) without the need for operational measures such curtailment or impose significant impact to electricity tariff .

“ The cautious measures allow the policy-makers to gain insights on the trending and implication of RE growth in other developed countries , enabling the right policy that suits local context without disrupting the reliability of electricity supply industry and end-users ,” added Lukanisman .