KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): Malaysia has established a phase-out plan for existing coal-fired power plants by reducing it to 50% by 2035 and completely retiring the plants by 2044, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof at the London Climate Action Week.
Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, was speaking at the high-level dialogue session for a global coal phase out. The event was organised by Powering Past Coal Alliance, which is co-chaired by the United Kingdom and Canada, and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
This announcement follows Malaysia’s pledge in 2022 to not build any new coal-fired power plants from 2040 onwards.
“Malaysia is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, despite the country only contributing to 0.8% of global emissions. However, in recognising the pivotal role of our collective efforts in mitigating climate change, we are now consciously transitioning away from coal-fired
power generation, which currently accounts for nearly half of our national emissions,” said Fadillah.
“We are steadfastly ensuring [that] this shift is balanced and equitable in minimising economic disruption, while maintaining a stable and reliable energy supply for our people and industries,” he said.
The deputy prime minister acknowledged the social and economic challenges of job loss that may occur as a result of the phasing-out exercise, and said the government is developing reskilling programmes to equip affected workers with new skills and competencies for the green economy.
“Simultaneously, we are fostering rapid growth in renewable energy adoption, which presents extensive new opportunities for our people and industries alike,” he said.
Fadillah highlighted Malaysia’s National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) target to increase renewable energy (RE) capacity to 70% by 2050, deploying energy sources that include solar, biomass and waste-to-energy. Other initiatives mentioned include grid modernisation and the Malaysia Energy Exchange, launched earlier this year, which enables cross-border trade of RE.
The target to completely retire coal-fired power plants by 2044 is slightly earlier than the NETR estimate, which projected an almost complete phase out by 2045, driven by the natural retirement timeline of existing plants and no new coal-fired power generation being developed.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) had said in August 2022 that it will retire selected coal-fired power plants earlier than planned.
According to the NETR, coal constituted 26.4% of the national total primary energy supply (TPES) mix as of 2020. Meanwhile, natural gas comprised the largest portion at 42.4%, and renewables were at 3.9%.
The NETR’s responsible transition pathway will see natural gas playing a significant role in replacing coal, accounting for over half of the TPES by 2050.