Skip to main content

Renewable Energy in Malaysia

PS20 and PS10Image via Wikipedia
Malaysia, with population of about 28 million, is one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. Although blessed with petroleum resources, this strategically-important Southeast Asian nation is relatively a small producer with reserves of 5.5 billion barrels of oil and 88 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Malaysia has significant natural gas exploration and development in the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area, located in the lower part of the Gulf of Thailand, which is highlighted by almost three-fourth share of natural gas in the energy mix in 2009.

During the last decade, Malaysia has seen almost 20 percent increase in energy generating capacity from 13,000MW in the year 2000 to 15,500MW in 2009.  The maximum demand for electricity last year was 14,000MW in Peninsular Malaysia, 700MW in Sabah and 900MW in Sarawak. Electricity generation in Malaysia is projected to grow further at an average annual rate of 4.7 percent. Most of power stations in Malaysia are based on fossil fuels as the energy mix is heavily dominated by natural gas and coal. Thermal power plants contribute 86 percent while hydropower plants account for 13 percent to the electricity generation capacity. Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) is the largest electricity utility company in the country with generation capacity of 10,481MW. Other major utility companies are Sarawak Electricity Supply Company (SESCO) and Sabah Electricity Limited (SESB).


Under the 8th Malaysia Plan (2001–2005), the government of Malaysia changed the Four-Fuel Policy (based on oil, gas, coal and hydropower) to the Five-Fuel Policy with the addition of renewable energy as the fifth source of fuel.

The Ninth Malaysian Plan (2006-2010) targets 350 MW of grid-connected renewable electricity by with fuel mix of 40 percent gas, 40 percent coal, 10 percent hydropower and 10 percent renewable energy. Another major development in the offing is the proposed introduction of feed-in-tariff for renewable energy in 2011.


Renewable Energy Resource Potential in Malaysia (in MW)
Biomass                                  2400
Biogas                                     410
Solar                                       6500
Municipal Waste                     400
Mini-hydro                              500
Total                                      10,210
Among the various sources of renewable energy, biomass seems to be the most promising option for Malaysia. In line with the promotion of using biomass energy, a Biomass Power Generation & Cogeneration Project (BioGen) was commissioned in October 2002. Photovoltaic (PV) systems are also another attractive renewable energy source for Malaysia as climatic conditions are favorable for the development of solar energy. However there is not much development in the domestic PV market despite the fact that Malaysia is currently the world’s fifth largest producer of PV modules. To encourage the development of grid-connected PV systems, the Government is providing financial incentives through the Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaic (MBIPV) Project.
Enhanced by Zemanta
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Woody Biomass and Conversion Efficiency

Every energy conversion system wastes a portion of its input energy. For biomass to electricity conversion systems, 50% or more of the energy input can be lost - even up to 90% for some small-scale and alternative technologies. However, the energy rejected from a conversion system can often be used productively for industrial or residential heating purposes in place of burning fuels separately for that purpose. When this is done the overall efficiency can jump to 75-80%. Most systems must reduce their electricity production somewhat to make cogeneration feasible. Thermal applications are the most efficient conversion technology for turning woody biomass into energy and should be considered in the development of a national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Thermal applications for woody biomass can be up to 90% efficient, compared to 20% for electricity and 50-70% for bio-fuels. Thermal systems can be applied at multiple scales, and are often more economically viable, particularly in...
Read more

Peat as Biomass Fuel

Upon drying, peat can be used as a fuel. It has industrial importance as a fuel in some countries, such as Ireland and Finland, where it is harvested on an industrial scale. In many countries, including Ireland and Scotland, where trees are often scarce, peat is traditionally used for cooking and domestic heating. In Ireland, large-scale domestic and industrial peat usage is widespread. Specifically in the Republic of Ireland, a state-owned company called Bord na Móna is responsible for managing peat production. It produces milled peat which is used in power stations. It sells processed peat fuel in the form of peat briquettes which are used for domestic heating. These are oblong bars of densely compressed, dried and shredded peat. Briquettes are largely smokeless when burned in domestic fireplaces and as such are widely used in Irish towns and cities where burning non-smokeless coal is banned. In Finland, peat (often mixed with wood at an average of 2.6%) is burned in order to produce...
Read more