Bursa Carbon Exchange, UEM Lestra Ink MoC To Pilot First CRESS Auction

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) -- Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX), a wholly owned unit of Bursa Malaysia Bhd, has signed a memorandum of collaboration (MoC) with UEM Lestra Bhd, a wholly owned unit of UEM Group Bhd, to pilot Malaysia’s first Bilateral Energy Supply Contract (BESC) auction under the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS).

The MoC was signed at a ceremony attended by Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Fad’l Mohamed and UEM Lestra Bhd CEO Harman Faiz Habib Muhamad.

Fad’l said the exchange plays an important role in accelerating the corporate transition towards a greener footprint.

“Most notably, we do so by strengthening disclosure standards, streamlining sustainability reporting, and developing an ecosystem that supports decarbonisation and sustainable practices through various services.

“This includes building BCX, the world’s first shariah-compliant voluntary carbon market, which now operates as a multi-environmental product exchange for trading both carbon credits and renewable energy certificates (RECs) via standardised contracts,” he said in his welcoming remarks at the MoC signing ceremony between BCX and UEM Lestra.

The BESC auction, set to launch on BCX, will allow corporates to bid for green electricity from UEM Lestra’s large-scale hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, based on their respective demand.

It is the first auction to be conducted under the CRESS framework, a government initiative aimed at improving corporate access to renewable electricity through third-party access to the national grid in Peninsular Malaysia.

Under the collaboration, BCX will provide its auction-as-a-service platform to facilitate an open and competitive bidding process.

UEM Lestra is currently developing several large-scale hybrid solar PV projects, including a one-gigawatt flagship project in Segamat, Johor.

Scheduled to begin operations in the first quarter of 2028, the facility is expected to generate more than 1.0 million megawatt-hours of clean electricity annually and offset nearly 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

The auction aims to promote transparent price discovery for solar electricity and enable participating companies or prospective offtakers to enter into BESCs with UEM Lestra. It is also expected to deepen liquidity on BCX through the eventual clearing and settlement of RECs, once the solar projects reach commercial operation.

Harman said the collaboration offers a new pathway for corporates to access clean energy aligned with their sustainability goals.

He said to kickstart this collaboration, the company is inviting interested parties to submit their bids through this new auction platform to secure green electricity based on their demand.

“This will support corporations in achieving their ESG (environmental, social and governance) commitments in a faster, simpler, and more impactful way—removing barriers and unlocking access to clean energy in a way that is scalable and market-driven,” he said during his speech.

Looking ahead, he said the platform could play a key role in supporting Malaysia’s climate goals, including reducing carbon emissions intensity by 45 per cent by 2030 and increasing the share of renewables in the electricity mix to 40 per cent by 2035.

The pilot auction is tentatively scheduled for November 2025. The confirmed date will be announced at the 3rd Malaysia Carbon Market Forum on Oct 15, 2025.

-- BERNAMA