Malaysia has launched the second phase of its National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR). The NETR is part of an ongoing strategy led by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR) to expand the role of the renewable energy sector in Malaysia’s national energy mix. The MENR aspires to have 70% of the country's total energy supply come from renewable sources by 2050.
Phase 1 of the NETR laid the groundwork for energy transition by commissioning 10 flagship renewable energy infrastructure projects. These include various renewable energy zones and a 1-gigawatt hybrid solar plant construction that will be the largest solar power source in Southeast Asia. These 10 projects are estimated to generate an investment of approximately 5.5 billion USD and 23,000 jobs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an anticipated 10,000 gigagrams of carbon dioxide per year.
Phase two of the NETR outlines promotion strategies for renewable energy transition such as avenues for corporate involvement and the development of a sustainability education framework. With a significant fossil fuel industry Malaysia’s energy transition was moving slowly with only a 4% mix of renewable energy share in 2020, behind Indonesia (12%) and Thailand (18%) and Vietnam (25.3%). However, the Minister of the Economy, Rafizi Ramli, now expressed enthusiasm for the potential of these projects to place Malaysia in a position of regional leadership for renewable energy.
