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Malaysian government to continue supporting solar power

Cities in Malaysia’s Sabah territory like Penang, above, have higher viability for solar PV installations compared with the country’s locations in the Asian mainland.

Malaysia’s Daily Express reported that the Southeast Asian country’s government is finding ways to make solar energy a more viable investment for Malaysians through policies and programs.

The report quoted Ahmad Hadri Haris, head of the Malaysian Energy Center’s renewable energy unit, as saying that a law is being drafted at the ministry-level, which makes it mandatory for power utilities to purchase from certified solar power generators. The law is expected to be implemented in 2011.

Ahmad stressed that Malaysia had tried promoting solar power generation before, but the cost of electricity generated from the sun is simply way above those from conventional sources. He added that the program called Suria 1000 gave a capital discount of up to 60% for installing a 3-kW solar power system, which costs MYR78,000 (US$20,900).

"Eventually, solar energy will be predominantly applied on buildings," Ahmad said, according to the Daily Express report.

Ahmad said the Malaysian government had also taken note of another scheme, the feed-in tariff for solar power, which has been successfully used in Europe.

The state of Sabah in Malaysia reportedly has enough sunlight for conversion to 1,800 kWh per square meter, higher than is available in the country’s location in the Asian mainland.

-  Eric Dorente

Sources:

¹ http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=63297
² http://www.dailyexpress.com.my