Expand solar power quota, assist economic recovery

THE Government should expand the solar power quota to 2,000 megawatts (MW) for the period 2021-2025 in Peninsula Malaysia due to rising demand for renewable energy.

“Demand for rooftop solar has skyrocketed during the COVID-19-induced recession. Just a week ago, the 500MW rooftop solar quota for Peninsula Malaysia under the Net Energy Metering 2.0 (NEM 2.0) was exhausted.

“Nearly 90% (445MW) was taken within the last 11 months and 30% (150MW) within last one month alone,” noted Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member Sharan Raj in a statement.

NEM 2.0 was a policy launched by the previous Pakatan Harapan Government aimed at increasing Peninsula Malaysia’s use of renewable energy to 20%, by 2025.

If left as it is, NEM 2.0 will generate 5,200MW of solar energy by 2025 without requiring any changes to the existing Tenaga Nasional Bhd power grid. To date, 3,000MW of power has been generated.

However, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry (Ketsa) told the Dewan Rakyat last week that it may tweak the policy to make it more “inclusive”, without elaborating on details.

Renewable energy an economic prospect

Sharan reminded the Government that Tenaga Nasional’s power grid could still accept another 2,000MW of solar installations by 2025 without utility-scale energy storage.

“Rooftop solar has an economic potential worth RM8 bil. This figure doesn’t include the multiplier effect that will help boost economic recovery.

“Thus, the ongoing organic growth of rooftop solar should not be paused,” he pointed out.

The PSM leader urged the Government to provide clarity on its rooftop solar energy policy so that the sector could grow without any interruption.

“This uncertainty has left solar panel producers, installers and buyers hanging,” added Sharan. – Nov 30, 2020.

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