INSTALLED capacity measured in mega-watts (MW) is the most misleading way to report renewable energy (RE) penetration as it does not reflect the real generated electricity measured in Mega-Watt hours (MWh), said Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).
“Certain RE such as solar can only generate electricity about eight hours per day while a baseload coal power plant can generate electricity for 24 hours non-stop,” explained PSM central committee member Sharan Raj.
Because of this, Sharan added that a 1,000MW coal power plant can produce at least three times more electricity compared large scale solar (LSS) rated 1,000MW within a 24-hour period.
“Measuring RE penetration through installed capacity is equivalent to ‘green-washing’ Malaysia coal and fossil-gas dependent electricity sector.
“The cost of electricity generated from RE are becoming so cheap that it makes no more financial sense to operate fossil fuel power plant. Meanwhile, electricity from LSS coupled with battery storage are about 30% cheaper than peaking gas power plants,” Sharan added.
That said, Sharan urged the Government to focus on increasing the electricity generated from non-fossil fuel sources to combat ongoing climate crisis and create green jobs.
He also reiterated that the RE sector is capable of creating three times more jobs compared to fossil fuel technologies and it is a vital step to curb unemployment and underemployment in Malaysia.
“Malaysia possesses the engineering capability, financial capacity, regulatory framework, and resources to achieve 100 Renewable Energy by 2025 for East Malaysia and 2035 for West Malaysia,” he concluded. – June 25, 2021
