Kuala Lumpur, 1 September 2021 – Malaysian photovoltaic (PV) plants builder Solarvest Holdings Bhd struck a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tenaga Nasional Berhad for 50 MW of solar park projects.
The contract is tied to three projects, all of which are winners in Round Four of Malaysia’s Large-Scale Solar (LSS) programme. It will enable the company to sell their output to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) for 21 years.
Two of the PV parks will be installed in Manjung, in the state of Perak on the western coast of Malaysia with the capacities of 25 MW and 12 MW. Another plant of 13 MW is set to be built in Kuala Selangor, in the state of Selangor.
The development projects will be funded by a combination of funds raised from corporate exercise and external borrowings. Upon the signing of the PPA, the company will work towards obtaining financing and the necessary approvals by the end of 2021. Construction activities for the solar plants is expected to commence in early 2022. The three plants are scheduled to begin commercial operation between 2022 and 2023.
Group CEO of Solarvest, Davis Chong Chun Shiong, said, “We aim to move beyond our involvement in the installation phase and include areas such as energy supply as well as Green technology solutions, essentially becoming a more comprehensive outfit in the renewable energy space. While we are cautious of the short-term headwinds in the industry, we remain steadfast in delivering high performing power plants, underpinned by our extensive experience in building LSS plants. Apart from that, we are also exploring to incorporate advance solar PV systems and AI-technology to maximise the energy generation output.”
The LSS programme, implemented by the Malaysian Energy Commission Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) in cooperation with TNB, aims to enable the development of large-scale solar power plants. Earlier in 2019, the third round of the LSS project, was launched to increase the share of renewable energies in Malaysia from about 2 per cent to 20 per cent by 2025. The third round had a total volume of 500 MW.
TNB is committed to enhance its sustainability pathway with an aspiration to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. In a public announcement on 26 August 2021, TNB President and CEO, Datuk Ir Baharin Din, said, “This new pathway is a clearer manifestation of TNB’s sustainability journey which began in 2016 with the launch of the Reimagining TNB strategic plan. The commitment provides further clarity towards TNB’s sustainability pathway over the next 30 years.”
“It supports the nation’s renewable energy plan to increase the share of Green energy in its power capacity mix. Our domestic capacity plan is in tandem with the Peninsular Malaysia Generation Development Plan, based on considerations to balance the energy trilemma. The focus of our international business will be to grow our overall RE portfolio and serve as the pathfinder for green technologies which we can eventually adopt in Malaysia,” added Baharin.
– Construction+ Online
