May/June 2021 | Page 13

May-June , 2021 | @ green

13 ting buildings ), and Voluntary Sustainable Energy Low Carbon Building Assessment GreenPASS .

With the advances and integration of EE and RE system in the building sector , SEDA Malaysia collaborates with the Japanese Business Alliance Smart Energy Worldwide ( JASE-W ). The Authority is tasked with providing awareness and technical facilitation on zero energy building ( ZEB ) development , aligning with the global development of super sustainable energy low carbon building initiative and to support the low carbon or future carbon-neutral development programme .

On his future strategies for SEDA Malaysia , Hamzah shared he aspires to make the Authority the lead agency in sustainable energy ( SE ) in the country , advancing both the RE and EE industry through leadership and knowledge sharing , thus becoming a one-stop centre for all things SE .

A pledge to improve

Hamzah was also firm on achieving Malaysia ’ s Nationally Determined Contributions ( NDC ) targets utilising SE potentials .

“ The Paris agreement saw participating countries pledge their own Nationally Determined Contributions ( NDCs ). Malaysia has pledged its greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 relative to the emissions intensity of GDP in 2005 .”

He said that this target was aligned to achieve a 31 per cent RE share in the national installed capacity mix by 2025 . As the power generation sector is a significant contributor to Malaysia ’ s carbon footprint , accounting for 30 per cent of total carbon emissions , the realisation of the government ’ s vision is crucial in supporting the nation to achieve its NDC targets .

There is more to be done to spread the awareness on adopting the EE efforts . SEDA has programmes running to further boost the EE practice in the country . They are the Sustainability Achieved Via Energy Efficiency ( SAVE ) 2.0 , RMK 12 Energy Audit Conditional Grant ( EACG ) for Industrial and Commercial Sector and the Voluntary Sustainable Energy Low Carbon Building Facilitation and Assessment Programme .” – Dato ’ Hamzah Hussin

“ SEDA Malaysia , as the implementing agency for FiT and NEM programmes , will do our best to ensure the success of the programme that will ultimately contribute to the clean energy generation . Our EE programme such as SAVE 2.0 and The Voluntary Sustainable Energy Low Carbon Building Facilitation and Assessment Programme will also help to contribute to the reduction of total carbon emission .” — @ green

HOW does SEDA Malaysia CEO Hamzah Hussin see the future of Renewable Energy ( RE ) in Malaysia in 2025 and 2035 ?

2025

• Achieving 31 per cent of the national installed capacity mix by the year 2025 .

• The FiT and NEM programme is expected to contribute to this goal . The recent allocation of 500MW under the NEM3.0 programme and the opening of e-bidding exercise for 188MW FiT quota in June .

• Heightened awareness on the programmes that the government and SEDA Malaysia are conducting , such as SAVE2.0 and NEM3.0 , as well as the national sustainability agenda in general .

• Developing a society with an in-depth mindset of energy management that includes the adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency ( EE ).

2035

• Achieving 40 per cent of the national installed capacity mix by the year 2035 .

• The RETR 2035 will provide guidance to achieve this target and demonstrate a socially just energy transition towards a more environmentally sustainable future .

• The RETR supports global renewables trends , such as the deployment of smaller and distributed renewable energy generations , which will provide opportunities for participation by individuals and small to medium enterprises ( SMEs ). Notably , the roadmap represents a cohesive strategic plan for the country to reach a committed RE target by 2025 and 2035 . The roadmap will balance the energy trilemma of economic growth , energy security and environmental sustainability . In this post-Covid-19 recovery , SEDA Malaysia believes that the RETR can contribute . more environmentally sustainable future . When an energy transition is socially just , it embodies inclusivity and ensures wealth is equitably distributed . RETR 2035 also intends to guide principles in achieving national RE aspirations and the strategic pillars towards directing initiatives on the viable path .

The roadmap is hoped to provide a clear direction of transition from fossil-fuel dependent to RE . Through this roadmap as well , we expect the government could give total commitment to the RE agenda moving forward .

Recovery and Covid-19

Even as Malaysia is still recovering from the pandemic , there is a call for a global green recovery . Last year had been exciting and challenging . Malaysia and the rest of the world were caught by surprise . The Covid-19 pandemic coupled with the Movement Control Order ( MCO ) is already reshaping our way of life . Our perspective of life may never be the same .

However , suppose we are looking at the RE shares . In that case , the installed capacity sees a general increasing trend across sectors in 2020 compared to 2019 ( refer to Table 1 ).

While the trend might not be reflected in the number of jobs from 2019 to 2020 across sectors , the cumulative number of jobs saw a positive inclination in 2020 compared to 2019 . This shows that despite the lockdown and Covid-19 impact on the economy , the RE sector showed resilient growth during this challenging time , indicating that the industry has immense potential to realise further .

From the RE industry ' s perspective ,

Sector 2019 2020 *

Large Hydro 5,689 N / A 5,689 N / A Biomass 718.35 6,647 703.35 6,550 Biogas 107.9562 1,842 115.7932 1,569 Small Hydro 502.577 1,067 506.557 1,245 Solar 1,136 8,314 1,524 10,665 Total 8,154MW 17,869 8,539MW 20,030

local photovoltaic ( PV ) manufacturers and assemblers ( LMA ) and service providers were affected by the pandemic . The total number of jobs in Malaysia ' s PV industry dropped from 18,343 to 15,180 , with a significant number of LMA ' s having ceased production .

Nonetheless , the number of Registered PV Service Providers ( RPVSP ) increased from 2019 to 2020 from 128 service providers to 157 . As of April 2021 , the RPVSP is reported at 161 and is estimated to reach 190 by the end of the year . One of the driving forces behind this growth could be attributed to the continuation of the NEM programme , whereby the programme provided a steady source of income for the RPVSP .

RPVSP is responsible for installing solar PV whereby they must comply with the safety and work etiquette guidelines on top of ensuring that the environment is not affected because of the installation . They are also required to achieve the goal set by SEDA Malaysia ( if any ) and contribute to

Table 1 (* based on estimation )

the development of the NEM programme or any RE programme under SEDA Malaysia .

Leveraging on the various potential in the RE industry , one of our plans is to make RE the New Economy Drive . We are planning to introduce a Solarpreneur programme where we develop young entrepreneurs in the solar industry to assist with deploying solar projects .

This programme will create more skilled and non-skilled jobs with an estimated impact on the economy amounted to RM374.5mil in 20 years .

On shaping the future

SEDA Malaysia is aware that it has a vital role to shape the future of energy in this country . I am fully committed to render my utmost support to the sustainable energy agenda in Malaysia .

With the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources ( KeTSA ) and various organisations ' support , I firmly believe that the Authority could facilitate the energy transition to better future generations .