Govt Targets 70 Pct Of Renewables In National Power Mix By 2050

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) — The government will continue efforts to increase the capacity of renewable energy (RE) within the national electricity supply system, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA).

This includes introducing the implementation of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to stabilise the grid and raise the RE capacity mix to 70 per cent of the national electricity supply by 2050, said the ministry on the Parliament website on Monday.

PETRA stated that the expansion of RE capacity and the strengthening of the grid system and network are expected to involve capital expenditure (capex), which will need to be financed either through system development costs or user tariffs.

“To ensure electricity prices remain affordable for domestic and industrial users, the energy transition will be carried out in a planned manner, and RE programmes will prioritise the ‘causer pay’ principle or be implemented via bidding mechanisms, to minimise the impact of sudden electricity tariff increases on the general public.

“This approach is crucial to maintaining the balance of the energy trilemma, which includes reliability, sustainability, and affordability for consumers,” PETRA said.

The ministry was responding to Datuk Abdul Khalib Abdullah (PN–Rompin), who asked about the current status and key challenges in implementing large-scale RE projects, particularly in ensuring the stability of the national grid and the affordability of electricity for domestic and industrial users.

According to the ministry, to date, a total of 332 large-scale RE projects with a combined capacity of 5,894 megawatts (MW) have been approved.

Of that number, 188 projects with a capacity of 2,564MW are already operational.

PETRA noted that one of the main challenges in implementing large-scale RE projects is the ability of the grid network to accommodate increased generation that is distributed and intermittent in nature.

To address this issue, the ministry said that the planning of RE capacity integration is carried out carefully through the Electricity Supply and Tariff Planning and Implementation Committee (JPPPET).

With RE capacity determined based on ongoing efforts to upgrade the system and grid infrastructure, ensuring RE generation can be integrated effectively without system constraints, said PETRA.

— BERNAMA