Push to generate renewable energy sources

PUTRAJAYA: Biomass, hydrogen and ammonia are the three renewable energy sources that Malaysia has the potential to develop further, says Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

“They are renewable energy sources, which will be big in the future. So these are low-hanging fruits that we should develop.

“In my opinion, we have a lot of space for other alternative energies, which are less controversial than nuclear,” he said at a press conference on the January 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) here yesterday.

He said Malaysia had an advantage in this because of its expertise in the oil and gas industry and experience in building the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.

The country also has an advantage in terms of labour, especially from those working in the oil and gas industry.

He said attention would be given to these areas, given the country’s advantage in economy, geography and expertise.

He said the ministry would look into expanding the use of biomass in industries such as plantations, which has the potential to generate this renewable energy source.

“When our industries use biomass, the dependence on gas will shift. Gas is expensive, and it will run out one day. This is in line with the ministry’s and the country’s focus to develop a circular economy,” he said.

Biomass is being used in many countries.

“There are discussions to expedite the use of biomass, especially in the plantation ecosystem,” he said, while noting that some industry players had adopted this energy source.

As for hydrogen, he said the expertise from the oil and gas industry would help due to the similarities with the development of petrochemical factories.

To ensure that hydrogen can become an energy source widely accepted in the market, we have to build that market,” he said, adding that the demand for hydrogen was high in countries such as Japan and Singapore.

“We have to increase discussions on this. Other countries are far ahead of us. We are spending time discussing nasi lemak, which costs RM2 or RM5. While we do that, we must also move Malaysia to lead this industry quickly, like we led the LNG industry,” he said.

Rafizi said the ministry hoped to finalise the Energy Transition Roadmap in three months.

He added that Malaysia had officially joined the Asia Zero Emission Community (Azec) bloc, which is a new initiative by Asean member states (except Myanmar), Japan, and Australia to drive the transition towards the adoption of renewable and green energy and to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses.

Rafizi led the Malaysian delegation for the first Azec Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on March 4.