November-December , 2022 | @ green
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Energy Conversion ) are either inadequate for commercial exploitation or not economically practical yet .
The excerpt below from SEDA ' s MyRER shows the current status of the RE resources in operation in Malaysia , where large hydropower dominates .
It says : As of 2020 , RE installed capacity in Malaysia amounted to 8,450 MW . Large hydro is the largest contributor to RE capacity with 5,692 MW , followed by solar PV and biomass with 1,534 MW and 594 MW , respectively . Small hydro capacity amounts to 507 MW and biogas to 123 MW .
MyRER also shows , in the Figure 0-6 , the tremendous potential RE capacity technically available for Malaysia to exploit and how much of it is likely to be utilised by 2025 and 2035 to meet the government ' s desired RE capacity share targets in those years .
Untapped hydropower resources
The bulk of Malaysia ' s untapped hydropower resources is in Sarawak . They will be developed according to the State ' s long-term plans to meet its promotions to attract energy-intensive industries for the State ' s economic growth and jobs creation .
As shown in the above charts , hydropower forms Malaysia ' s largest RE development share .
Solar PV capacity is undoubtedly being developed as rapidly as planned and desired , albeit with slight hurdles in achieving their original CODs ( Commercial Operating Dates ). Still , other RE resources do not appear to enjoy the same success .
The multiple mechanisms that promote solar PV capacity additions , such as rooftop installations , NEM ( Net Energy Metering ), SelfCo ( Self consumption ), and PV Farms and the LSS / USS ( Large Scale Solar / Utility Scale Solar ) can meet its capacity growth targets over the period covered by the MyRER , 2035 .
Malaysia is reported to “ have abundant biomass waste ”, especially from the oil palm plantations and the forest / timber industry . Unfortunately , this sentiment seems to forget that a substantial portion of that “ biomass waste ” is an essential commodity used as an agricultural input or energy source in those industries .
The remaining surplus waste is generally scattered and not easily consolidated as economically viable waste for electricity-generating power plants . Consolidating ( or clustering as MyRER has termed and recommended it ) also faces the commodity ( waste ) cost and transport logistics element , making such
options somewhat unrealistic .
However , the indicated development of geothermal electricity generation , even by 2035 , is perhaps an unlikely option . The forecast 30 MW of geothermal capacity has been abandoned , as shown in the excerpts below .
In a way , this report brings to mind the memory of the Desertec Industrial Initiative ( DII ), Nevertheless , Malaysia can still confidently look forward to attaining its RE generation capacity share targets for 2035 .
Does this mean Malaysia can comfortably achieve its Net Zero Emissions ( NZE ) 2050 target ?
There appears to be no specific policy document defining how the NZE target will be achieved . Still , the current pace of emission reduction initiatives certainly needs to be substantially enhanced for Malaysia to do so . – @ Green
Malaysia is reported to “ have abundant biomass waste ”, especially from the oil palm plantations and the forest / timber industry . Unfortunately , this sentiment seems to forget that a substantial portion of that “ biomass waste ” is an essential commodity used as an agricultural input or energy source in those industries .”