Dato Abdul Razak

Datuk Fazlur Rahman

Mohammad Nazri

BY KHIRTINI K KUMARAN

REs such as solar , wind , and hydro do not emit carbon dioxide . It could massively cut carbon emissions and help mitigate climate change if integrated into the energy supply grid .

However , RE integration has to meet the rising global demand for energy , increasing rapidly alongside the worldwide population growth . And , to maintain and improve the quality of life , the energy supply has to be continuous , secured and affordable simultaneously .

The panel of Clean Power & New Energy ( CPNE ) 2022 ’ s ‘ Improve electricity , engineering , design and construction efficiency to remain competitive ’ discussed Malaysia ’ s RE transitions and the implementation landscape .

Moderated by Petronas Gas Berhad Independent Non-Executive Director Dato Abdul Razak Majid , the panel featured Mohammad Nazri Mizayauddin ( Chief Strategy Officer , Sustainable Energy Development Authority , Datuk Fazlur Rahman Zainuddin ( Chief Strategy & Ventures Officer , Tenaga Nasional Berhad ), and Ir James Ung Sing Kwong ( Group Chief Operating Officer , Sarawak Energy ).

RE penetration in Malaysia

The increased awareness of climate change and climate action , said Fazlur , has given rise to aspirations , efforts and solutions from governments , stakeholders and the public .

Countries across the Southeast Asia region have set bold regards to RE penetration . Malaysia is likewise actively embracing sustainable energy and has set the target to reach 31 per cent of RE share in the national installed capacity mix by 2025 .

In line with the nation ’ s interest , Fazlur informed that TNB , a key player in Malaysia ’ s energy sector , has announced its sustainability pathway , whereby TNB aspires to achieve net zero emission by 2050 .

“ We have a half-time target to reduce carbon emission intensity by 25 per cent and reduce coal capacity by 50 per cent by 2025 . Towards 2050 , we aim to achieve our net zero aspiration and be coal-free .”

SEDA , an agency under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Malaysia ( KeTSA ), focuses on implementing the Feed-in Tariff ( FiT ) system and proactively promotes sustainable energy development in the country , said Nazri .

“ We provide training and facilitations , and actively collaborate with the relevant stakeholders , NGOs and tertiary institutions , to keep updated with new technologies , solutions , and research and development ( R & D ).

“ SEDA also monitors and weighs in on the needs and wants , and the supply and demand factor , of the market , industry players , key stakeholders and public . Thus , we work closely with domestic and international partners , like TNB , SEB , IRENA , and World Bank .”

Meanwhile , in Sarawak , James said : “ We been fortunate enough that we have good support from the Sarawak government pushing towards RE and clean energy agenda .

“ Over the energy transition period for the last 10 years , I ’ m pleased to say that SE now has a renewable generation mix of more than 70 per cent . And we continue to ensure that our hydrocarbon development is sustainable .

“ Moving forward , there are more exciting developments for RE as SE is looking forward to developing more renewable hydropower . At the same time , we are capitalizing on our water resources by building floating solar on our lake .”

Addressing RE challenges

A large part of the RE generation mix in Malaysia , particularly Peninsular Malaysia , comes from solar . And the main challenge for solar power is intermittency ,

system interruption due to cloud cover or heavy rainfall , which results in lost energy capacity generation .

Therefore , it is vital to ensure backup energy supplies . Storage will take its rightful place as a critical grid asset by 2023 , helping to increase the reliability and resilience of increasingly decentralized power systems . The adoption of diverse energy storage solutions , including long-duration batteries for utility-scale renewable integration , will grow by at least 30 per cent year-over-year from 2023 .

James informed that for Sarawak , RE power generation mainly comes from hydropower and does not have an intermittency issue .

“ As far as hydropower is concerned , we are fine . But going forward , as we are looking into integrating solar power , we must look into storage solutions to better manage the energy mix .

Apart from energy storage , said Nazri , other multifaceted issues require significant capital expenditure to improve and strengthen the grid , such as equipment and infrastructure readiness and compatibility .

Fazlur noted that there would be many challenges and uncertainties along the way , which he believes can be solved over the coming years with significant investments and collaborations .

“ Not one country , company or entity can achieve net zero emission on their own . It is something that has to be done via strategic partnerships and collaborations .

“ At TNB , we believe through collaboration , especially amongst our Southeast Asia region neighbours , we can synergies , share and distribute some of the investments , which will minimize the overall cost for all countries and achieve significant emission reduction .” — @ Green