KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 24): Just two months ago, Malaysia’s pilot auction for green electricity exports to Singapore closed with 100MW capacity set for the island state for one year from September.

To the surprise of many, the pilot saw a muted response. Industry participants point to three issues: obstacles in recognising green attributes of renewable energy (RE) procured from another country, pricing of RE sold from Malaysia, and the country’s packaging of this “product” called RE.

Meanwhile, Malaysia is also expected to launch the grid's third-party access (TPA) mechanism, dubbed CRESS or Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme, next month.

This marks another real new market for the players who can plant up based on demand. This is unlike Malaysia’s green energy exports pilot, which remains centralised, where it uses capacity from existing RE plants contracted to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA).

By doing away with the RE quota through this programme, Malaysia could see more RE-hungry establishments land on its shores while the industry waits for the cross-border market to mature.

That said, the opening up of the national grid for direct access by green energy suppliers and consumers (third parties) has received mixed views amid higher-than-expected system access charges, or “toll” to use the grid.

Industry players who spoke to The Edge share their thoughts on the access charges, as well as steps proposed to the government to further facilitate participation.

In the long run, the Asean Power Grid (APG) ambition could open more doors as Malaysia seeks to grow the pie of the electricity industry.

To know more about the state of Malaysia’s power sector in green energy exports, industry liberalisation with grid TPA, and pursuit of the regional grid integration, pick up a copy of the Aug 26, 2024 issue of The Edge Malaysia weekly at newsstands today.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.