Organised by Malaysia Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation, the National Energy Awards (NEA) 2021 appreciation ceremony was held at the Hyatt Regency in Kuala Lumpur and officiated by the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.
Held physically for the first time since the pandemic, in his official address to all the winners and attendees at the event, the Minister called on RE players in the local sustainable energy industry to continue their efforts to support the energy transition agenda as well as the Government’s aspirations towards a carbon-neutral nation.
The NEA Awards and ASEAN Energy Awards 2021 saw 34 local industry players winning the awards in recognition for their efforts and initiatives by the industry, commercial users, and government entities in the application of renewable energy (RE) practices and energy efficiency. Subsequently, 25 of the NEA winner represented Malaysia on AEA 2021 with 12 taking the victory badge at the ASEAN level.
Takiyuddin, shared his views on the development in the field of sustainable energy in particular in the field of RE towards the energy transition agenda and its contribution in supporting national climate change aspirations, in addition to creating a local sustainable energy industry that is competent and credible. He also stressed that the energy transition agenda is among the things that will dominate the narrative of world geopolitical relations as well as business and trade activities between countries.
In recognising the importance, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA) he added is committed to reducing the carbon footprint by the electricity supply industry to achieve emission targets Net GHG (greenhouse gas) is zero by 2050 with the setting of progressive policies.
Among them is to increase the capacity of the RE mix in the country’s electricity supply to 31% by 2025 and 40% by 2035, reducing the use of coal-generated power, enhancing grid flexibility to increase the input of solar power into mainstream use for commercial and industrial sectors through the enactment of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Law.
To realise these aspirations, the Government has implemented various RE and energy efficiency programs including
a. provide a Malaysia Renewable Energy Roadmap (MyRER) that sets the direction and guidance for the development of the country’s renewable energy industry until 2035
b. the launch of the Green Electricity Tariff (GET) Program that allows corporate companies to subscribe to green electricity from solar and hydro to meet their ESG commitments. The GET program gotten encouraging response with all 4,500 Giga Watt Hours green electricity offered fully subscribed within weeks;
c. offers an additional capacity quota of 300MW under the NEM NOVA Program to encourage the development of solar systems on roofs of buildings to be more widespread in the country;
d. introduced the SAVE 3.0 Program initiative which provides rebates up to RM400 to domestic electricity consumers who buy electrical efficient equipment that have 4 or 5 star rating by the Energy Commission; and
e. offer conditional Energy Audit Grants and Energy Management for the industrial and commercial sector amounting to RM24 million that can assist business entities to conduct energy audits and identify potential electricity savings in premises
Through these commitments as well as the energy transition initiatives that were implemented, the RE mix in the country’s electricity supply reached 23% by 2021 proving Malaysia is on the right track towards its energy transition agenda. The Ministry is confident the Green House Gas emission by power producers will be reduced by 45% in 2025 and 60% in 2035 compared to the intensity in 2005. This is in line with the country’s commitment under the Paris Climate Change Agreement to reduce GHG emissions by 45% by 2030.
Events like NEA offers an excellent platform for industries in RE to share and implement innovative solutions in the field of energy efficiency. The success of Malaysian representatives at the ASEAN level also demonstrates the ability of local industries to feature ideas and solutions by optimizing the supply and use of sustainable energy.
