Clean, Green And Profitable, A Look At Malaysia's Switch To Renewable Energy

Clean, Green And Profitable, A Look At Malaysia's Switch To Renewable Energy

When talking about the world's environment, sometimes it seems that there is
no room for optimism.

Climate change has reached an irreversible point, which in turn is
increasing the temperature of the world, melting ice caps, and contributing
to the world's rising sea levels.

Meanwhile, things aren't looking good among our immediate neighbours in the
region, as deforestation, open burning, and slash and burn practices still
reign in some parts of the world.

All this, combined with pollution, makes for a not so pretty picture of the
earth that we're leaving for our children.

But, the people around the world have taken notice of the world's ills, and
major governments are working on solutions on how we can at least slow down
the effects and start shaping a better world for the future.

One of those initiatives that have taken hold globally, is renewable energy.

Renewable energy or clean energy simply refers to energy taken from a source
that will not deplete when used. As we all know, the world now runs on
fossil fuel which is not renewable.

Some of the leading sources of renewable energy technology available in the
world today includes solar power, wind power, hydro power (power generated
from water) and biomass energy (energy produced by land resources such as
food waste and garbages).

According to an article by Knowledge@Wharton University of Pennsylvania,
Denmark produces 43% of it's energy from renewable sources, and they are
aiming to have 70% by 2020. Meanwhile, Germany utilizes clean energy at more
than 30% now, and are aiming for an incredible 80% by 2050.

So, in light of this, where does Malaysia stand? Where are we in terms of
utilizing and implementing clean energy?

What Is Our Government Doing So Far?

According to the National Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan, which has
been in place since 2011, Malaysia aims for a total of 11% of our energy
sources to be from renewable sources by 2020.

The Renewable Energy Act 2011 was also passed by Malaysia's Parliament,
paving the way to establish and implement a special tariff system to ensure
that the development of that energy sector is well governed from the start.

The act provides for a Feed-in Tariff (FiT) System regulated by the
Sustainable Energy Development Authority of Malaysia (SEDA) to provide
strong regulatory support to ensure renewable energy produced in this sector
is purchased, distributed and utilised effectively.

Although this seems miniscule compared to the countries mentioned before in
this article, we also must remember that Malaysia is still a developing
country, and comparing us to major powerhouses countries is a foolish
notion.

Which is why considering where we are right now economically and technology
wise, we are actually doing quite well with our renewable energy program.

But although there are some considerable progress in Malaysia when it comes
to renewable energy, there are also some challenges in the implementation of
clean energy.

One of the biggest challenges is, that there are other alternatives to
traditional fossil fuels, other than renewable energy as well despite the
alarm raised by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that if we continue to
unlock the earth's resource of fossil fuels, we will raise our planet's
temperatures to the point of no return.

According to IEA, to keep the world below an average 2°C temperature
increase which has catastrophic consequences, we need to leave 80% of all
fossil fuels in the ground.

Yet one of the most popular alternatives is coal energy. Coal energy is
generated through burning coal to produce energy.

Although coal has been receiving international backing as an alternative to
fossil fuel, the fact remains that the burning of coal contributes to
harmful carbon emissions, which makes it part of the problem rather than the
solution.

One of the main draws to coal as an alternative compared to renewable
energy, is that coal is very cheap, especially when compared to renewable
energy.

And for a developing country like Malaysia, cheap energy tends to be more
valuable, due to our socioeconomic restraints.

Which begs the question, where does renewable energy stand in Malaysia? Is
is the way to the future, or is there still a place for other alternatives?

"The Most Important Thing To Note About Traditional Fuels Is That They Won't
Be Around Forever"

In terms of where renewable energy stands in Malaysia, climate change
advocate and activist Harith believes that there is a bright future in
Malaysia when talking about renewable energy.

"I believe that with national policy, and the way the world's governments
has been leaning, there is a bright future for renewable energy," he said.

According to Harith, although we are still very reliant on fossil fuels for
energy, thanks to the efforts of several government initiatives such as
Sustainable Energy Development Authority of Malaysia (SEDA), renewable
energy is starting to find their own foothold in Malaysia.

Harith also talks up the importance of renewable energy, especially
considering the worsening state of the earth.

"Renewable energy is important in our status as a developing country,
especially considering our own reliance on traditional fossil fuels.

"The most important thing to note about traditional fuels is that they won't
be around forever, one day the resources will deplete themselves. So we need
to be ready to look in the long term and start implementing renewable energy
as one of our primary energy sources," said the 33-year-old..

Harith, who spends his free time organizing and giving talks about climate
change advocacy and the importance of renewable energy, also points out that
awareness among people about the importance of renewable energy is high, but
the action being taken is lacking.

"The general public needs to be doing more, when it comes to the
implementation of renewable energy. Even simple acts such as separating your
trash will be beneficial in the long run," he said.

This says Harith, shows the need for proper education in conserving the
nature around us in schools and education institutions.

"I believe that a special subject dealing with environmental conservation
should be taught in schools. This will go a long way in letting the public,
especially the children and teenagers the importance of their role in
keeping the earth healthy," he said.

Although renewable energy is the way to the future, some people still
believes that it is something that is long term, and quite idealistic in
it's nature.

Let's take the South Australian Blackouts for example. In 2016, the southern
parts of Australia experienced a blackout in the entire state.

Although the reasons for the blackouts were established to be due to storm
damage, it did not stop politicians to ask if renewable energy failed them
then.

After the incident, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Barnaby Joyce
attributed the blackouts to the failure of wind energy.

Malcolm Turnbull, the President also said that the incident was caused by
state governments paying little attention to "energy security".

The whole incident sparked a furious debate in the field of renewable
energy, with most people questioning the feasibility of renewable energy.

After all, most renewable energy is intermittent energy, such as solar and
wind. In countries where there is little to no sunlight or wind, this means
that there is no solar energy and wind to be harnessed.

Which brings us to the next question, is renewable energy really that
feasible?.

"Time Is Of The Essence"

According to Encik Fahmi Mansur, who is a lecturer of Environmental Sciences
in a private university, says that it is feasible, but if implemented in the
correct way.

"This is the reason why, renewable energy needs to be implemented correctly.

"We are still in our infancy when it comes to renewable energy. Technology.
This is why we need to study every aspect of it carefully and, choose where
and when we can implement it," he said.

Although he believes that it is good to meticulously study the effects and
the consequences before implementation, Fahmi also believes that when
talking about renewable energy, "time is of the essence."

But he applauds the government for their efforts, and thinks that the
government is on the right track with their initiatives.

"The government is doing a fine job with the implementation of renewable
energy. When you look at the New Economic Model proposed way back in 2010,
it shows that the government wants the nation to be able to take a
leadership role in the implementation of renewable energy.

"Amongst ASEAN countries, we are among the leaders, and that is a very proud
achievement," he said.

In fact, a BMI Research in February this year places Malaysia among the top
three for renewal energy investment. BMI's "Asia Renewables RRI: Investment
Opportunities" report published in early 2017 lists Malaysia, Singapore and
Australia as the best countries such investments.

"Momentum behind Malaysia's renewables sector has been gathering pace, in
line with the country's National Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan and
the government's feed-in tariff scheme.

"This supportive energy policy, alongside relatively good access to finance
and well-developed grid infrastructure results in Malaysia's risks profile
outperforming the regional average as well," BMI's report states.

Fahmi also said that it is not only the federal government, but some state
governments and corporations deserve praise for their commitment towards
renewable energy as well.

"Such as Sabah state government, when they rejected the plans for a new coal
fired power plant back in 2010, as it will have detrimental effects on the
environment.

In fact, Sabah announced the country's first geothermal power plant to be
developed in Apas Kiri, Tawau in August last year.

"The geothermal energy technology is considered as both very green with
extremely low carbon footprints and has very high availability and
reliability rate as clearly demonstrated in other operating plants
worldwide," said SEDA in statement, ernama repots.

"The same goes for corporations like the Berjaya group, who had funded
plenty of renewable energy projects in the past, and will continue to do so
in the future. FELDA also is one of the main proponents of Biomass energy,
which counts as one of our biggest contributors to sustainable energy
growth.

When asked about the main challenges in implementing renewable energy in
Malaysia, he believes that convincing companies to make the jump is one of
the greatest challenge.

And he believes that better education will be key in overcoming the
challenges.

"First of all, we need to educate the people on the importance of renewable
energy, and why they need to get behind it. Then only will the businesses
follow suit.

"Investors need to invest more in companies that cares about their
sustainibility of their projects, which will in turn get the companies to
switch their stance.

"Capital can be moved, but the public needs to be educated first," said
Fahmi.

The Business Of Renewable Energy Must Be Economically Viable

When talking about challenges in the implementation of renewable energy, one
thing that always stood in the discussion is the cost of implementing clean
energy.

Which is why coal is still such a popular alternative across the world, even
with the proven carbon emission contribution.

And with the recent introduction of clean coal technology, there has been a
push back for coal powered plants in some countries, like the USA.

And cases are also being made that the introduction of renewable energy and
their plants will take away jobs from traditional coal plant workers.

But with proper retraining and re-education, there will be no problems for
the workers in coal plants, to secure jobs in the coming renewable energy
power plants.

And although coal might work as an energy source in the short term, we still
need to look at the long term in our decisions.

In Malaysia, it is clear that the move to renewable and sustainable energy
is always at the forefront of the government in their actions.

In 2010, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in a blogpost on the
environment said that Malaysia's fuel mix was leaning too much towards
natural gas and coal. He went on to express his hopes to correct this
imbalance as Malaysia moves to become one of the leaders in sustainable
energy development, and a low carbon economy.

As we can see, this led to the Renewable Energy Act in 2011 and the setting
of the National Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan to ensure 11% of our
country's energy needs are meet from renewable sources by 2020.

However, even renewable energy must be shown to be profitable to generate
continued investment and growth.

The private sector has also been coming around to the 'green is good for
business' concept with developers, manufacturers and even the financial
sector introducing green initiatives which were recognised in the first
Green Tech awards in 2015.

Among the sectors recognised during the awards ceremony were Maybank in
recognition for its Green Technology Financing Scheme, Gading Kencana for
its push for renewable energy services, Malakoff Corp for investing in the
largest wind farms in Australia. Companies involved in developing solar
energy were also awarded, Cypark Resources was recognised for initiative to
construct solar farms on closed landfills and Malaysian Solar Resources, a
leading investor in local solar manufacturing.

Bandar Eco-Setia was awarded for building homes with solar energy systems
while Panasonic Malaysia was awarded for its line of energy efficient
appliances and Tan Chong Motors for its efforts in bringing in electric cars
for the mass market.

Government linked agencies were also recognised for their efforts in going
green. Among them Malaysia Airports Holdings for incorporating solar
photovoltaic technology in KLIA and green features in KLIA2, Malaysia Debt
Ventures in promoting Islamic financing for green technology and Malaysian
Resources Corporation in advocating commercial buildings that meet green
standards.

On 1 August 2016, RAM Ratings published a rating methodology on renewable
energy projects to enable sustainable and responsible investing,
technological advancements, and a stable local regulatory framework.

RAM Ratings reported that currently it is the large-scale hydro power plants
that dominate the renewable energy sector citing government statistics that
6,083MW of electrity produced in 2015 was from this source making up 23 per
cent of the national capacity. Meanwhile the rest of the sector, including
solar photovoltaic, biomass and geothermal sources only contribute 2 percent
to the nation's energy consumption.

Although there is still a long way to go, with a government like Malaysia's
and their continued fight for renewable energy, there is much room for
optimism

After all, although there might be some rocky waters ahead, the conversion
to renewable energy is important, in order to secure a better future for
Malaysia.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.malaysiandigest.com/frontpage/282-main-tile/688286-clean-green-an
d-profitable-a-look-at-m-sia-s-switch-to-renewable-energy.html

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com