KUALA LUMPUR (May 30): The government plans to release the National Energy Transition Roadmap, which contains more details on the country's renewable energy export guidelines and policies, tentatively around June, according to Energy Commission chairman Mohd Rashdan Mohd Yusof.
The roadmap will be announced by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, said Mohd Rashdan during the Affin Conference Series 2023 on Tuesday (May 30).
Technical details within the roadmap, like frameworks and policies, will be revealed by Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
"I think an indicative date is the middle of the year. Hopefully, we can deliver within that timeframe. It'll be quite soon, very shortly." Mohd Rashdan added.
"[The government] expects exponential growth in this space, especially solar. But we are not restricting it to solar. For example, biomass, biogas, or what we call small hydro, are all welcome. They're all renewable energy. But I think the great opportunity is solar, because we [Malaysia] have a lot of sun," he explained.
As for the virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) programme, Mohd Rashdan said the application for the 800MW quota had been “oversubscribed” when it opened on May 9, 2023, as they received an “overwhelming response”. The successful applicants to the programme will be announced in due course, he said.
The government introduced VPPA under the Corporate Green Power Programme (CGPP) in November last year, which allows renewable energy providers to negotiate electricity tariffs directly with commercial power consumers to commission new generation capacity.
“So, there is no grid price in CGPP. In short, what we are looking for is cost reflectiveness — what is the true price to bring green energy right to your doorstep. On top of that, for you to have it all the time.
“We are looking at a cost reflective mechanism when we deploy renewable energy but if the industry is happy to go towards that regime then tariffs will also be higher, which will incentivise more players. That will incentivise bankers to lend to the players, whoever they are,” he said.
During the conference, Mohd Rashdan was asked to comment on the upcoming semi-annual electricity tariff revision for the second half of the year, considering the declining fuel prices.
However, he declined to comment, saying that it is the prerogative of the NRECC minister.
“At the moment, domestic tariffs run at a rebate of two sen compared to the current true price of electricity, [which is supposed to have] a 27 sen surcharge. If you combine fuel and energy subsidies, it is 25% of the government's budget.
“Therefore, the T20 [electricity tariff] will probably have to go up, and the subsidy burden will have to come down. The question was whether the tariff will go down; for T20, I don’t think so,” he said.