KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): The Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation has kicked off the bidding process for the fifth round of the Large Scale Solar programme (LSS5) or LSS-Peralihan Tenaga SuRiA, offering a total generation quota of 2,000MW. 

According to a statement from the Energy Commission (EC) announcing the request for proposal (RFP), four packages will be offered, ranging from permitted generation capacities of as low as 1MW to as high as 500MW.

Package 1, taking up 250MW of the total quota, comprises rooftop or ground solar power plants, with a permitted generation capacity of 1MW to 10MW, and will be available to companies with at least 51% Bumiputera companies with SME Status certificate from SME Corp Malaysia.

Package 2, also with a quota of 250MW comprising rooftop or ground solar power plants, but with a permitted generation capacity of 10MW to 30MW, will be open to bids from companies that have at least 51% Bumiputera ownership, or from consortiums with at least one Bumiputera company holding at least 51% equity.

As for Packages 3 and 4, which offer the biggest permitted generation capacities under LSS5, they are open to companies that are at least 51% domestically owned.

Package 3, with a total quota of 1,000MW, comprises rooftop or ground solar power plants, with a permitted generation capacity of 30MW to 500MW.

Package 4, with a 500MW quota, comprises floating solar power plants, with permitted generation capacities of 10MW to 500MW.

Both packages 3 and 4 are open to companies or consortium with at least 51% equity ownership by Malaysian.

The solar power plants to be developed under LSS5 are scheduled to be operational in 2026, according to the EC.

The regulator is inviting industry players to participate in LSS5’s bidding process, in line with the criteria set in the RFP document.

“The RFP document will be sold from April 1 until April 16 at 5pm, through the EC website at www.st.gov.my, at a price of RM3,000 each,” the statement read.  

“Physical submission of the RFP document must be sent and received by the EC no later than July 25, 2024 at 5pm, and any changes to the method of submission will be notified through the EC website,” the EC said in a separate notice.

The article has been updated with information from a press statement by the Energy Commission.