Malaysia unveils details of energy transition roadmap
Malaysia on 29 August launched a detailed national energy transition roadmap (NETR), which sets out initiatives the government will undertake to achieve its 2050 net zero target.
The government launched the first phase of the NETR on 27 July comprising six energy transition levers — renewable energy, hydrogen, bioenergy, green mobility, energy efficiency and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).
The latest version of the roadmap states that the government will also launch a national energy transition facility (NETF), with 2bn ringgit ($431mn) allocated as the initial seed fund. Projects under the NETR are expected to attract investments of more than 25bn ringgit and reduce emissions by more than 10mn t/yr of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). The NETR also aims to set up a national committee on energy transition to strengthen cross-sector collaboration in energy policy planning.
The NETR sees Malaysia achieving 70pc installed renewable energy capacity by 2050, mainly made up of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. The share of coal-fired power generation is targeted to fall to zero in 2050 from around 26pc currently, and no new coal-fired power generation will be developed.
Transportation is a significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emission contributor in Malaysia, with the land transport sector accounting for 55mn t/yr of CO2e. The government hence intends to adopt more green mobility practices and technologies across various transport sectors such as light and heavy land vehicles, aviation and marine transport. It aims for electric vehicles (EVs) to make up 80pc of the vehicle fleet by 2040, and targets local EV manufacturing capabilities to make up 90pc of local EV manufacturing. It also intends to introduce a blending mandate of up to 47pc sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2050.
The government aims to enhance overall energy efficiency to lower energy intensity and reduce CO2 emissions, to improve "all dimensions of the energy trilemma by reducing demand to improve energy security, lowering costs for users to enhance energy equity and minimising emissions from energy production to elevate environment sustainability", the roadmap states.
Malaysia is also considering the potential of green hydrogen. The NETR aims to establish one low-carbon hydrogen hub by 2030, and an additional two hubs by 2050. It also aims to produce up to 2.5mn t/yr of green hydrogen by 2050 from renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric and solar.
Malaysia is additionally targeting the development of three CCUS hubs by 2030, with two in peninsular Malaysia and one in Sarawak, with a total storage capacity of up to 15mn t/yr. It also aims to add a further three carbon capture hubs by 2050, with a total storage capacity between 40mn-80mn t/yr.
The NETR estimates that Malaysia will require an investment of 1.2 trillion-1.3 trillion ringgit by 2050 to achieve its energy transition goals.
Related news posts
Austria advances hydrogen subsidy law
Austria advances hydrogen subsidy law
Hamburg, 16 May (Argus) — Austria's government has agreed on a law for subsidising renewable hydrogen production. The law foresees €400mn being allocated to projects through a competitive bidding system this year as fixed-premium subsidies over a 10-year period, with another €420mn to be made available in 2025-26 . Funds could be made available by utilising the European hydrogen bank's "auction-as-a-service" scheme, which allows EU member states to use the mechanism to allocate funds to projects on their territory. A second European hydrogen bank auction is due to launch towards the end of this year. Austria could use this to allocate funds, but the law also leaves the option open of conducting auctions outside of the hydrogen bank mechanism. In a supplementary text, the government said that the projects supported through the law could start operations between 2027 and 2030. The government estimates that the €820mn budget could support some 18,000-40,000 t/yr of renewable hydrogen production, assuming subsidies come in at an average €2-4.50/kg. Under the hydrogen bank auction mechanism, funds are allocated to the projects requesting the least amount of support. In the hydrogen pilot auction, for which results were announced in late April, five Austrian projects participated, but they were all unsuccessful. Subsidies went to plants in Spain, Portugal, Norway and Finland instead . The Austrian projects represented a combined 278MW of electrolyser capacity with anticipated production of around 33,200 t/yr. A single project made up well over half of this and with a bid of around €0.60/kg was not far off the clearing price. Meanwhile, bids for the other, much smaller projects were close to the auction's ceiling price of €4.50/kg. Germany was the only country to use the "auction-as-a-service" mechanism for the pilot auction, but other countries, such as Belgium , are also considering using it in the future. Austria's hydrogen subsidy law has now been passed to parliament for review. By Stefan Krumpelmann Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EBRD ‘green project’ funding hit €6.54bn in 2023
EBRD ‘green project’ funding hit €6.54bn in 2023
London, 15 May (Argus) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) hit a record level of investments in the "green economy" in 2023, at €6.54bn ($7.1bn) in 337 projects — up from €6.36bn in 2022. The multilateral development bank (MDB) again reached its target for at least 50pc of its total annual investment to go towards green projects. Of total investments, 50pc went to green projects — flat on the year. The EBRD initially set the goal for 2025, but hit it in 2021, with 51pc of its investment going to green projects. The EBRD's investments stood at €13.1bn in 2023 — a new record high — going towards 464 individual projects. The bank has since the beginning of 2023 ensured that all new investment projects are in line with the Paris climate agreement goals. The Paris agreement seeks to limit the rise in temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5°C. Countries' focus on MDBs and their role in delivering climate finance has intensified in recent years. Climate finance is set to dominate climate talks this year, including at the UN Cop 29 summit, set for November in Baku, Azerbaijan. Mukhtar Babayev, Cop president-designate, last month called on MDBs and parties to the Cop process to deliver on climate finance. The EBRD is owned by 73 shareholder governments, the EU and the European Investment Bank. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazilian governors back renewable H2 support bill
Brazilian governors back renewable H2 support bill
Rotterdam, 15 May (Argus) — A group comprising the governments of nine states in northeast Brazil has endorsed the latest amendments filed in the country's hydrogen bill, which envisage generous tax credits and financial incentives for renewable hydrogen production and demand. Governors from the nine states have joined calls by the Brazilian green hydrogen industry association ABHIV to push the national government to embrace the suggestions, recently filed by senator Otto Alencar. The consortium, which is an instrument for "political, judicial and economic" integration of the states that make up the northeast region, is urging more support from federal government at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam. The current pipeline of planned projects in the northeast would amount to approximately 12mn t/yr of renewable hydrogen production, and "if only 10pc of these projects materialise, it would already place us in a global leadership position," Piaui's governor and consortium representative Rafael Fonteles said. The proposals in the bill resemble incentives that were given to other energy sectors such as ethanol and biodiesel to make alternative sources more competitive, ABHIV director Fernanda Delgado said. "Brazil knows how to do these policies, this is not new". The amendments are currently being discussed by the senate. ABHIV expects some pushback from the finance ministry regarding the tax credits, mainly regarding the 20-year offer, Delgado told Argus , but the initial proposal has left some room for negotiation and even a more modest version will already help the industry, she said. The current proposal envisions tax credits to up to 15GW of electrolyser capacity in the country, with up to 6.58 Brazilian reais ($1.27) per kg for production and 8.55 reais/kg for domestic consumers. While the northeast of Brazil offers competitive renewables generation and available land, these factors alone are "not enough" because "competition is worldwide," according to the head of Latin America at French renewables firm Voltalia, Robert Klein. The first molecules will be the most expensive ones and the tax cashback will help make them more competitive and projects reach gigawatt scale, Klein said. Momentum has accelerated for Brazilian renewable hydrogen projects, although almost all are at a very early stage. During the event, Brazilian utility Eletrobras signed an agreement to support European group Green Energy Park's planned renewable hydrogen and ammonia production in Piaui with electricity transmission infrastructure. By Pamela Machado Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US court upholds RFS blending targets for 2020-22
US court upholds RFS blending targets for 2020-22
Washington, 14 May (Argus) — A federal appeals court has affirmed biofuel blending requirements for 2020-22 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), rejecting lawsuits from refineries and renewable fuel producers challenging the standards. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acted within its authority in the rule when it revised the biofuel blending targets to account for small refinery exemptions it expected it would award in the future, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit said today in a 2-1 ruling. The court rejected a complaint by refineries that argued EPA could only revise the annual biofuel blending targets based on exemptions it had already approved in the past. "The statute does not confine EPA to the Refiner Petitioners' preferred method of accounting for small refinery exemptions," DC Circuit judge Cornelia Pillard wrote on behalf of the majority. "EPA's choice to account for them both retrospectively and prospectively is not arbitrary or capricious." The ruling leaves intact a 2022 rule that required renewable fuel blending to increase to 20.63bn USG by 2022, up from 17.13bn USG in 2020. For the first time under the RFS, the rule used a new formula that tried to avoid a recurrent issue under which EPA failed to account for upcoming requests from small refineries for exemptions from the RFS. EPA has subsequently decided to start denying all small refinery exemptions, under a new argument that small refiners do not face a disproportionate hardship from complying with the RFS. But if the courts throw out that finding in a pending lawsuit , the formula at issue in today's court ruling could take on a greater relevance for how EPA accounts for small refinery exemptions when setting biofuel blending targets. The DC Circuit rejected a separate lawsuit by cellulosic ethanol producers that said EPA should have required increased blending of cellulosic ethanol, based in part on the availability of carryover compliance credits. The court found EPA had adequate authority to waive volumetric targets set by the US Congress in 2007 based on its finding there were inadequate domestic supplies of the fuel, which is produced from plant fibers. Judge Gregory Katsas, who dissented from the ruling, said he believed the biofuel blending requirements for 2022 were set "arbitrarily high." Katsas cited EPA's finding that those standards would impose an estimated $5.7bn in additional costs for fuel but only deliver $160mn in energy security benefits. Katsas also faulted EPA for increasing the biofuel blending targets by 250mn USG in 2022 to "cancel out a legal error" from biofuel blending targets in 2016. Katsas said there was no authority to transfer volume requirements from one year to another. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more