MIRI: Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water is now going full speed in making the necessary preparations and formulation of subsidiary legislations to the Renewable Energy Act 2011.
Its minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin yesterday said the Act was an important piece of legislation that would create an environment conducive for renewable energy to grow in an effective and sustainable manner.
Disclosing this at the opening of the Third CUTSE International Conference 2011 — Innovative Green Technology for Sustainable Development — Chin said, “The implementation of Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan is anticipated to accelerate the development of renewable energy in Malaysia because the adoption of the Feed in Tariff (FiT) mechanism has an incentive structure to encourage the growth of renewable energy.”
Earlier, Chin said Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia (Seda Malaysia) Act 2011 would enable the establishment of Seda Malaysia, a statutory body equipped with powers to enforce the Feed in Tariff system under Renewable Energy 2011 which would be tasked with ensuring that FiT was implemented successfully in the country.
According to him, it was expected that by 2020, the renewable energy capacity for Malaysia would reach 2,080 MW or approximately 11 per cent of the total peak electricity demand capacity. He said, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, an accumulated 42 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be avoided due to renewable energy generated during the period.
“Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) is yet another major initiative of the government to develop Sarawak’s central region and transform Sarawak into a developed state by the year 2020.
“It aims to accelerate the state’s economic growth and development, and to improve the quality of life for the people of Sarawak,” said Chin.
The core of the corridor is its energy resources (28,000 MW), particularly hydropower (20,000 MW), coal (5,000 MW) and others (3,000 MW) as this will allow the state to price its energy more competitively and encourage investments in power generation and energy-intensive industries that will fire up the industrial development in the corridor, he added.
SCORE’s five-pronged development strategy, he said, would include driving priority industries, building a well-designed network of industrial class transportation and communication, expediting the development of energy supply, accelerating human capital development and developing tourism industry within the corridor.
This, he said, showed that research and development of green technology would be a key factor determining the success of SCORE.
Meanwhile, as a renowned international university established in the regional oil and gas hub, Curtin University Sarawak had always maintained a close linkage with the industries, both regional and international, through its teaching and learning programmes, research and development activities, industrial training arrangements and other active interactions, Chin said.
“The 3rd CUTSE International Conference 2011 is yet another excellent example of a meaningful event that facilitates such fruitful interaction between the university and the industries, Institute of Engineers Malaysia and the academicians of the world,” he added.