UEM Group Berhad, a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with local and foreign investors to develop a 1 GW hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant along with a renewable energy industrial park in Malaysia. This initiative aligns with the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), and Khazanah has been designated as the champion for the Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in Malaysia.
The project will be a joint effort between UEM Group and ITRAMAS Corporation, a vertically integrated solar plant developer, EPCC, and service provider in Malaysia. The collaboration aims to leverage their respective expertise, resources, and networks for a successful project.
Foreign investors, including Blueleaf Energy, China Machinery Engineering Wuxi (CMECWUXI), and HEXA Renewables, have also shown interest in the project. Discussions are underway with UEM Group regarding their potential involvement in project development, financing (including equity investments), and commercialisation (including green electricity offtake). ITRAMAS and CMECWUXI intend to be the anchor tenants and initial green electricity offtakers within the renewable energy industrial park.
The park seeks to attract foreign manufacturers and suppliers in the renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV) value chains, as well as other high-tech companies. The goal is to establish operations and research and development facilities that contribute to the growth of Malaysia’s energy transition and EV ecosystems.
Recently, in June 2023, EDP Renovaveis SA, majority owned by utility EDP, completed the installation of a 1.9 MWp distributed generation solar energy system in Malaysia. The DG system was built for leasing company PE Land on the roof of the largest shopping centre in the country, located in the state of Penang. The PV array comprises 3,584 solar panels and has the capacity to generate more than 2.86 million kWh of electricity annually.