Malaysian PV investment hits $544 million in 2016

Malaysian PV investment hits $544 million in 2016

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) approved 2.42 billion
ringgit ($544 million) of solar investments in the 12 months to the end of
December.

Roughly 1.77 billion ringgit was invested in seven PV production facilities
last year, MIDA said, with investments in 83 undisclosed renewable energy
projects rising to 650 million ringgit.

About 11.1 billion ringgit of unspecified solar products were exported from
Malaysia in 2016, while 1.42 billion ringgit of equipment was sourced in the
country, MIDA said, citing data collected from an undisclosed number of
companies.

MIDA did not immediately respond to requests to comment.

It pointed to Chinese monocrystalline silicon producer Longi's recent $240
million investment in a new wafer, cell and module plant in the state of
Sarawak as the biggest solar investment in the country last year.

MIDA chief executive Dato' Azman Mahmud said the investment underscored
Malaysia's "growing importance. as a solar cell manufacturing hub" and urged
investors to consider the country as a strategic base.

"A strong supply chain is also crucial," he said in an online statement. "We
are building up local capabilities to develop further in areas such as
system integration and balance of system components, which are important
parts of the PV system value chain."

About 95% of investments in solar production in Malaysia comes from outside
of the country, MIDA claims.

Separately, MIDA this week vowed to release its Malaysian Solar PV Roadmap
2030 by the end of 2017, according to the New Straits Times.

The Malaysian government is targeting 2.08 GW of installed renewables
capacity by 2020, with net metering policies and state support for
large-scale solar projects to account for about 1.5 GW of the total.

Malaysia's installed PV capacity currently stands at 296.5 MW, with 34.5 MW
of new solar added in 2016, according to the Sustainable Energy Development
Authority (SEDA).

Earlier this month, the Malaysian Energy Commission issued a request for
proposal to auction off the rights to develop 360 MW of grid-connected solar
capacity in Peninsular Malaysia and 100 MW in Sabah and Labuan on the island
of Borneo.

The projects will be commissioned in 2019-20.

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Link to Original Article:
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/03/15/malaysian-pv-investment-hits-544-mill
ion-in-2016/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com