KUALA LUMPUR (April 20): The long-awaited Energy Exchange Malaysia (Enegem) has finally been introduced, along with guidelines on cross-border electricity sales announced by the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra) last Monday for exports of green electricity from Malaysia to Singapore and Thailand.

As Malaysia already exports oil and gas, the move is seen as a positive development for the country to become an energy hub for the region. This is in line with the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) to transform the country’s energy sector.

Last week, Petra announced that the maiden export of renewable energy (RE) would kick-start with a pilot auction of 100 megawatt (MW) to Singapore — that is less than 2% of the nearly 7,000 MW installed RE capacity in Peninsular Malaysia — before it is expanded to 300MW.

The pilot project to export at least 100MW of RE to Singapore is one way to test demand while ensuring ample supply to the local market.

Nonetheless, some have raised concerns that the government’s move to export the country’s RE could lead to Malaysia losing strategic investors to other countries in the region.

In this issue’s cover story, The Edge looks at the government’s considerations involved in establishing the framework.

Also read what industry players say about the development, as well as other solar energy-related announcements by the government in recent months, including the fifth instalment of the large-scale solar (LSS5) awards, additional net energy metering quota, and rebates for residential rooftop solar installations.

What does the latest progress of the country’s RE sector mean to industry participants? How does the newly announced RE export mechanism work? To find out, grab a copy of The Edge Malaysia today.

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