IS the Government planning to revert to the old independent power producers (IPP) for power generation by rolling back progress made under the Net Energy Metering 2.0 (NEM 2.0) policy, asked Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).
Speaking to FocusM, its central committee member Sharan Raj said it would be a step backward for the nation if the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry (Ketsa) decides to review NEM2.0.
“Under the policy, Malaysia will have 20% renewable energy generated electricity by 2025. As we have mentioned in the past, NEM 2.0 is not even an aggressive approach but a ‘business as usual’ move.
“But any review to the policy will only create an electricity deficit and to cover the discrepancy, we may need to tap into fossil and coal generated power again,” he said.
Yesterday, Ketsa told the Dewan Rakyat that it would be reviewing the 20% renewable energy target in order to make it more “inclusive”, without providing further details.
The response drew brickbats from former Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda) chairman Wong Kah Woh, who accused the ministry of trying to undo the progress made by the previous Pakatan Harapan Government.
Wong said that Seda’s own data has shown that NEM2.0 policy had generated nearly 400 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, which is almost 95% of the target set.
“The target, among others, will help us reduce the nation’s carbon emission and bring almost RM33.2 bil in new investments, creating 100,000 new jobs.
“It seems like the Perikatan Nasional Government has no political will to develop our renewable energy sector at all.
“This will only make investors lose confidence in our renewable energy industry,” said the Ipoh Timor lawmaker.
The policy was mooted by the former Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin in 2019, in order to diversify the nation’s electricity generation and also provide a more transparent power generation module for both the industry and consumers.
Peninsula Malaysia is poised to install 3,000MW of solar under NEM 2.0 & LSS1-4.
If it ain’t broken, why fix it?
Echoing Wong’s sentiments, Sharan said Peninsula Malaysia will generate 5,200MW of solar energy by 2025 without requiring any changes to the existing Tenaga Nasional Bhd power grid.
He added that Malaysia is poised to generate 3,000MW by end of this year alone.
“Just by maintaining the policy, we can surpass the 20% threshold by 2025. Plus, we are just talking about solar energy here, not even touching power generated from hydro, mini-hydro, biomass and biogas.
“So this will make our IPPs redundant. The question now is, why the Government is trying to review something that is already working?” asked Sharan.
The PSM leader reminded the Government that renewable energy was cheaper compared to generating electricity using fossil fuel and coal.
Sharan added: “Due to the progress by NEM2.0, many people have installed solar panels at their homes to generate electricity. So just let the policy run as it is.” – Nov 24, 2020.
