The Road to a Sustainable and Efficient Energy Future
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THE ROAD TO A SUSTAINABLE by MARK RAO Nation’s New AND EFFICIENT OUNTRIES across the globe are Economic Frontier striving towards a sustainable and MESTECC Minister Yeo Bee Yin said we Cgreener energy future as part of the should not think within the confines of historic Paris Agreement — a landmark climate change alone, but consider the ENERGY FUTURE treaty to combat climate change and its wider economic benefits when talking impacts. about renewable energy (RE) and energy However, underlying this drive is the efficiency (EE). The implementation of the action As such, the Energy Efficiency and was higher than what was sold to TNB. often overlooked yet vast economic “Energy has long been the enabler for plan is expected to save 52,233GWh of Conservation Act is being drafted and Concurrently, the ministry introduced opportunities latent in this new energy Malaysia’s economic development and electricity over the plan period, from 2015 expected to be tabled in Parliament as the concept of solar listing through Supply future. prosperity. RE and EE are carving out a new to 2025, compared to a business-as-usual early as the beginning of next year, with Agreement for Renewable Energy (SARE) Mounting climate woes have awakened economic frontier for the country in terms scenario. the aim to address the shortfalls in the to instal solar panels in their homes at no a growing consciousness, not only in of job and economic opportunities. This will result in an electricity demand energy industry. upfront cost. individuals and selected interest groups, “The question now is, how do we growth reduction of 8% which, in turn, will This is expected to further promote the Note that a total of 500MW has been but across industries and governments leverage on this decarbonisation trend to reduce peak demand and the need to adoption of energy-saving behaviour allocated under the Net Energy Metering worldwide too. create these opportunities for Malaysians build new power plants in the future. among Malaysian consumers and which will be fully exhausted by Renewable energy (RE) is, thus, no as we need to look above and beyond the There is a huge potential in terms of EE businesses. end-2020. longer a buzzword but imperative in Paris Agreement,” she said. in Malaysia, with the country’s potential Until the Act is passed, MESTECC will Meanwhile, a total of RM2 billion was securing a sustainable and clean energy RE — particularly solar projects — energy saving between 2016 and 2030 rely on the National Energy Efficiency allocated under the third cycle of the large- future. In Malaysia’s case, the Ministry of generates more jobs per GWh of estimated at RM46.9 billion. Action Plan. scale solar 3 or LSS3 scheme earlier this Energy, Science, Technology, Environment production than fossil fuels, natural gas or Nevertheless, Malaysia is not far-off The ministry also secured the year, geared at increasing Malaysia’s and Climate Change (MESTECC) is coal, in which Malaysia is currently reliant from achieving its RE and EE goals, ranking Cabinet’s approval for its initiatives in electricity generation from RE. leading the charge towards the global on to meet its energy demand. a respectable 31st in the World Economic reimagining the Malaysian Electricity The capacity to be tendered out goals. According to the International Forum’s latest Energy Transition Index, Supply Industry or MESI 2.0, aimed at ranges between 1MW and 100MW, with Part of the ministry’s task is to instil in Renewable Energy Agency, Malaysia was with system performance and transition reforming the country’s electricity supply a target aggregate capacity of 500MW in the 32 million people living in Malaysia the biggest solar photovoltaic (PV) readiness at 68% and 55% respectively. market while opening up opportunities Peninsular Malaysia. today that RE is not just about saving the employer in South-East Asia last year with for the development of sustainable To facilitate cross-border cooperation, environment, but creating an efficient over 54,300 people employed by the Creating a Regulatory energy. Malaysia will turn to the Asean Power energy future that feeds the economy. industry — up from the 40,300 employed Framework for New Energy In addition, MESTECC plans to Grid to ensure energy security both Among its commitments vis-à-vis the in 2017. This includes the manufacturing Transitioning into a sustainable and introduce Malaysia’s own green tariff domestically and regionally. Paris Agreement, Malaysia pledged to sector where Malaysia ranks among the efficient energy future requires an and a green-trading platform to It is estimated that approximately 65 reduce carbon emissions per GDP by 45% top three PV producers in the world. inclusive and future-focused energy encourage investments in clean and million people in South-East Asia do not by 2030, relative to its carbon intensity in As RE is forecast to reach price parity system structure, something that green industries. have access to electricity, according to 2005. The country is estimated to have with fossil fuels in the not too distant Malaysia is currently embarking on. In A revised net energy metering the International Energy Agency. produced 370 million tonnes of carbon future, green energy will be equitable fact, legislation could be a good start. programme was also introduced in Among the initiatives being undertaken dioxide equivalent today. across all income groups in Malaysia. It is Yeo categorically stated that legislation January 2019 to allow excess energy is the construction of an undersea cable Malaysia is well on its way to achieve here that the country can achieve the is a must if Malaysia is to move into the new produced from installed solar panels for connecting Malaysia to Singapore, while this, having already reduced the emissions trinity of a sustainable, secured and energy space. residences to be sold to Tenaga Nasional Malaysia is further looking to collaborate intensity by 33%, but the country further affordable energy future. “We must have a regulatory framework Bhd (TNB) on a “one-on-one” offset basis. with other Asean countries. set itself the ambitious and arduous task of Malaysia’s RE initiatives are in tandem for energy efficiency. Failing which, This means there is no difference A lot of work remains to be done on this increasing its RE capacity mix from 2% in with its efforts to improve EE within the Malaysia will be unable to address the between the selling and purchasing prices front, but MESTECC believes that Malaysia 2016 to 20% by 2025. same 2025 deadline, as rapid industriali- energy trilemma facing countries across for electricity in Malaysia, starting from can transition into this new future via Achieving this target — which sation over the past two decades saw the globe today,” she said, adding that this early this year. Prior to this, energy bought concerted and determined efforts. excludes large-scale hydro projects energy demand growing faster than is one of the weaknesses in Malaysia’s above 100MW — requires an additional Malaysia’s GDP. energy industry today. 4GW in RE capacity to be injected and This necessitated the need to enact ener- commercialised in the country. gy-efficient policies and the National While no small task, these efforts are Energy Efficiency Action Plan was formu- needed if Malaysia wants to achieve a lated in 2015 to put Malaysia on a sustaina- sustainable, secure and affordable energy ble energy path via green initiatives. future in what countries today have coined as “energy trilemma”. The opportunities are there for a cleaner and efficient energy future, but the question is, how does Malaysia capitalise on these opportunities? A PLATFORM FOR GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE by MARK RAO HE National Energy Awards (NEA) provides a platform to accelerate Tgreen energy adoption among industry players, while consolidating the nation’s leading position in Asean in new energy. The 2019 edition of the NEA — which recognised the best practices in energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) — is an initiative by the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC). As part of its commitment to the Paris Agreement, Malaysia pledged to reduce its carbon emissions per GDP by 45% by 2030, and is on track to achieve this target after reducing emissions by some 33% today. Nevertheless, the nation needs all the cooperation it can get from local Having this national award will players in the fields of EE and RE. Bhd for the biogas project in Tawau. Selangor, while Universiti Malaysia corporations, businesses and industries automatically secure our participation,” “In EE, Malaysia is the most advanced in These companies took home the top Sarawak’s on-campus RE centre not only to achieve this goal in tandem with she told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR). terms of South-East Asia, while it is only prizes despite the stringent assessment includes a micro-hydro system, but increasing RE generation capacity mix by Noor Afifah said the winners of this behind Singapore on EE standards. The process applied to all participants, with substantially reduced carbon emissions. 20% in 2025 from only 2% in 2016. edition will represent the country in the awareness is there…we do not see today the judging criteria further benchmarked Chen said the level of competitiveness MESTECC deputy secretary general Asean Energy Awards (AEA) which will be the energy-guzzling buildings (of the against the AEA standards. among the NEA 2019 participants was so (energy) and NEA 2019 technical held in Thailand next month. past),” he told TMR. However, this stringent assessment did strong that it necessitated a merit award committee chair Noor Afifah Abdul Razak “It is a recognition that Malaysia is at One of the notable winners of the 2019 see only runner-ups for the Retrofitted for deserving companies, alongside the said the adoption of EE and RE is the way the forefront in EE and RE in Asean.