Applications for FiT quota to be opened in June
23 Feb 2021
PUTRAJAYA, Feb 23 — The government, through the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia, will open applications for feed-in tariff (FiT) quotas totalling 188 megawatts (MW) for biogas, mini hydro and biomass resources in Peninsular Malaysia in June.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said of the total, a quota of 32MW was allocated for biogas, 126MW for mini hydro and 30MW for biomass projects.
“All the FiT quotas can be applied via e-bidding through the SEDA Malaysia website, www.seda.gov.my, from June 1 for biogas, June 8 for mini hydro and June 22 for biomass,” he told a media conference here today.
Shamsul Anuar said the offer of the new FiT quotas would be able to generate RM1.5 billion in investments and create 600 job opportunities in the renewable energy (RE) industry.
He said the projects approved would begin generating and supplying electricity starting from mid-2024.
“When the electricity generation takes effect in 2024, it will boost the entire country’s electric capacity especially in the RE sector. We hope this will indirectly lead to a more stable electricity supply and hence benefit the people,” he said.
The e-bidding under the FiT mechanism was first introduced in 2018 for biogas resources before being widened to cover mini hydro resources in 2019 and biomass resources this year.
He said e-bidding was used to ensure the FiT quotas were approved for bidders offering the lowest tariffs.
“This approach allows the Renewable Energy Fund to be optimised and hence more FiT quotas can be offered to RE development companies,” he explained.
Shamsul Anuar said all companies registered with SEDA Malaysia could apply for the FiT quota, but the agency strongly encouraged local companies to seize this opportunity.
He said since the FiT programme’s introduction in 2011, SEDA had approved quotas totalling 1,394MW involving 10,476 RE projects nationwide.
Meanwhile, Shamsul Anuar said the Energy Commission was studying other more viable alternatives to implement RE projects in Sabah.
“This is to enable RE projects to be implemented there. For the time being, we are continuing with projects that are still ongoing in Sabah, which means there is no programme similar to this (FiT) currently being done in the state,” he added.
Source: Bernama
