KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) (KL:TENAGA) said on Thursday that its unit has been shortlisted by the Energy Commission (EC) to develop a 500-megawatt (MWac) large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Kuala Muda, Kedah.
According to TNB, TNB Renewables Sdn Bhd (TRe) was awarded a letter of notification (LON) as a shortlisted bidder on Dec 23, following the fifth large-scale solar bidding round (LSS5) conducted by the EC.
This is the largest solar farm project to be dished out in Malaysia to-date under the LSS reverse bidding process.
The announcement came after the EC confirmed on Monday that it had finalised the winning bids for LSS5, which has four packages with a total capacity of 2,000MW.
It is understood that TNB's 500MW was dished out under package three.
According to sources, other notable firms shortlisted under package three include Samaiden Group Bhd (KL:SAMAIDEN), with a 99MWac project in Kelantan; Gentari Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned renewable energy subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), with a 100MWac project in Kedah; Ditrolic Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd, with a 100MWac project in Perak; and property developer Parkland Group’s majority-owned Parkland Renewable Energy Sdn Bhd’s 99.99MWac project in Johor.
As for package four, shortlisted outfits were rumored to include Aizo Group Bhd's (KL:AIZO) 63%-owned Wawasan Demi Sdn Bhd with a 99.99MWac project in Perak; Gadang Holdings Bhd's (KL:GADANG) 70%-owned Nusantara Suriamas Sdn Bhd, with 99.99MWac project in Selangor; Conextone Energy Sdn Bhd's 90MWac farm in Melaka; and a venture linked to Edra Power Holdings Sdn Bhd and Selangor state-linked Worldwide Holdings Bhd, with a 300MWac project in Selangor.
Meanwhile, package one, with a quota of 250MW, is designated for projects sized between 1MW and 10MW, while package two, also with a quota of 250MW, is for projects sized between 10MW and 30MW.
Packages one and two are reserved for companies with at least 51% Bumiputera equity.
Aside from the highly sought after LSS awards, the government last year also announced efforts to support the development of solar parks in the country under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).
This is led by TNB, via five 100MW solar parks in different locations in the country, and another 1GW under Khazanah Nasional Bhd through UEM Group.
Shares in TNB ended 10 sen or 0.71% higher at RM14.18 on Thursday, valuing the utility giant at RM82.43 billion.
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