KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 2): Malaysia saw a combined 291.09MW in large-scale solar (LSS) generation capacity turning operational in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q2023), as more projects in Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Sabah turned online.

The latest increase raised the total operational capacity of LSS projects in Malaysia to 1,702.5MW, from 1,411.41MW recorded as at end-September, data from the Energy Commission (EC) showed.

The increases were seen in Perak (132.31MW), Kedah (85.76MW), Penang (50MW), Selangor (13.02MW) and Sabah (10MW).

Accordingly, there were still 742.87MW of awarded capacity across past LSS awards that were still in progress, led by Perak (160MW), Selangor (138.97MW) and Terengganu (117MW).

Three states have no outstanding LSS projects, namely Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka.

Malaysia has awarded a total of 2,445.37MW of capacity under LSS projects since 2016 across five LSS awards, including the fast-track awards in 2016 prior to adopting the competitive bidding method beginning with LSS1 in 2017.

Notwithstanding the ongoing LSS projects, the government last month announced plans to award another 2,000MW of LSS capacity through competitive bidding from April 1.  

Peak generation from existing grid- and distribution-based solar installations stands at near 1,500MW, according to data from the grid system operator, which makes up around 64% of total peak solar generation of near 2,350MW currently.

Other solar generation models include net energy metering (NEM) at close to 500MW at its peak (21% of peak solar generation), as well as self-consumption (Selco) installation at around 90MW (3.8%).