Energy Transition Roadmap by the end of June, says Rafizi

by HAJAR UMIRA MD ZAKI / pic HUSSEIN SHAHARUDDIN

ECONOMY Minister Rafizi Ramli (picture) announced the first phase of the Energy Transition Roadmap will be set up by the end of June this year, paving the way for Malaysia to develop the first cross-border regional electricity system.

He said the system would allow the nation to rapidly scale up the whole region’s energy capacity, given the lots of hydro potentials in Malaysia. 

“The first phase is expected to be completed by the end of June, focusing on strategic projects and initiatives that specifically involve hydrogen, large-scale solar pumps and specialised renewable energy (RE) industrial zones. These initiatives will involve collaboration with companies that are actively involved in these areas and attract investments in RE projects.

“Phase 2 will be in August and will focus on the current enablers. And by that, I mean legislative reform, the incentives, the funding that are available that we will put through to accelerate the transition.

“That is why we are doing rather differently than the previous government policy,” he said during the Affin Conference Series on Malaysia 2023 today.

Rafizi said the project will require a total RM657 billion worth of investment. 

He said in developing the roadmap, he hoped that RE capacity in Malaysia would reach 70% by 2050. 

“At the same time, and it is in that context that we made the decision to reverse the previous policy by lifting the export ban on renewables. 

“I believe we should embrace and focus on our work instead of being defensive and spending excessive time on export bans. We shouldn’t fear competition or adopt a mindset of keeping everything for ourselves,” he said.

Last week, Malaysian electricity utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) announced it had inked strategic partnerships with the major energy players in Vietnam and Laos to boost its ongoing drive to strengthen the Asean Power Grid (APG) interconnectivity and advance Malaysia’s aspiration of becoming the RE hub for Asean.

These collaborations are set to accelerate regional decarbonisation efforts and cater to the increasing demand for cleaner, sustainable energy options, TNB said in a statement.

The utility provider said these partnerships aim to enhance TNB’s RE portfolio and fast-track the expansion of TNB’s wholly owned subsidiary, TNB Power Generation Sdn Bhd (TNB Genco) and TNB’s New Energy Division into South-East Asia.