371.73 MW OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CAN BE GENERATED THROUGH FiT MECHANISM

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- A total of 371.73 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy can be generated through the implementation of the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) mechanism until June this year, the Energy Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia said.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Ridu said as FiT mechanism administrator since December 2011, SEDA Malaysia has approved 9,586 applications for a total capacity of 1,311.43 MW.

The amount represents the cumulative total generated from five renewable energy sources -- biogas, biomass, mini hydropower, photovoltaic solar and geothermal, she told reporters in conjunction with the SEDA Malaysia 2016 Open Day here today.

"Of the total number of applications approved, 6,261 have begun commercial operations with a total capacity 371.73MW," she said, adding that SEDA Malaysia is confident of achieving the FiT mechanism target of 400MW of renewable energy by year-end. 

Ridu said with the amount approved under the FiT mechanism, Malaysia would be able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions of about 36 million tonnes and create about 25,000 jobs until the first quarter of 2018. 

Malaysia has set the target of 2,080MW of renewable energy to be generated by 2020 in line with efforts under the 11th Malaysia Plan. 

Ridu said due to financial constraints, SEDA Malaysia is adopting the Blue Ocean Strategy to promote the use of renewable energy and seeks the cooperation of community groups, schools, government agencies and the public. 

"We plans to hold an exhibition to promote the use of sustainable energy in public places such as shopping malls, but due to financial constraints, we hope we can work with stakeholders," she said. 

Meanwhile, plans are afoot to hold the SEDA Malaysia Open Day in three zones, namely for the Central Zone in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 5, the North Zone in Langkawi at end-October and East Malaysia in Sabah in November. 

Ridu said the SEDA Malaysia Open Day is aimed at raising public awareness on the importance of the use of sustainable energy, including efficient energy. 

She said Malaysia together with other ASEAN member states aims to achieve a 23 per cent renewable energy mix by 2025 through the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2016. 

"But this goal is still further away as currently the country's supply of new energy is less than two per cent," she said. 

-- BERNAMA