SEDA Malaysia: Unlocking the Potential of Renewable Energy

Source: www.fluorescentsquid.com/ver1/

Hello everyone and welcome to http://azhamvosovic.blogspot.com where I will keep all of you updated with the information required for renewable energy and energy efficiency effort in Malaysia. The Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) together with Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA Malaysia) have worked hand in hand to promote the awareness and raise public concerns on the needs to discover the potential of renewable energy and the benefits of energy efficiency in the country.

Source: thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/03/29/1791811/bombshell-imf-study-united-sates-is-worlds-number-one-fossil-fuel-subsidizer/

Renewable energy & sustainable measures are important to the country because depleting fossil fuel sources such as oil, can last for only 11.8 years and natural gas for another 39.4 years. Energy is the cornerstone of any country’s economy thus energy security is a very important issue which must be managed well so renewable energy will eventually become the answer to our quest for greener energy growth and secure our economy development in the long run.

Source: ladfeamir.com/2013/12/27/pentingnya-feed-in-tariff-fit-di-malaysia/

Renewable energy provides an alternative to fossil fuels that can reduce environmental issues, creates more job opportunities as well as a long-term, secure and locally-produced energy supply to fuel the economy. Feed-in Tariff (FiT) is among the most effective policy instrument to encourage the development of renewable energy in a country. A Feed-in Tariff is simply a guaranteed price established for anyone who wants to sell renewable electricity to the grid and acts as a guarantee that they will have access to the grid to do so. The tariff is set so that a modest profit is ensured and unleashes the collective capital resources of the entire province, state or country to be part of the transition to renewable energy.

Source: www.viridis-asia.net/what-is-feed-in-tariff-fit.html

The Malaysian government has approved the implementation of Feed-in Tariff Mechanism in Malaysia when Renewable Energy Act 2011 (Act 725) was enforced on December 1^st 2011 aimed to promote the deployment of renewable energy such as photovoltaic, biomass, biogas and small hydro in the country’s energy mix. SEDA Malaysia is the implementer of Feed-in Tariff program for development of renewable energy in Malaysia.

Source: ohcikgu.com/2013/10/29/seda-malaysia-open-day-blogger-workshop-2013/

Malaysia’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) system requires the Distribution Licensees (DLs) such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad and NUR Distribution Sdn. Bhd. (NUR) with this year’s addition of Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd (SESB) to buy from renewable energy producers the electricity produced by them. FiT rates are set by SEDA Malaysia with approval from KeTTHA to pay for the renewable energy supplied to the electricity grid for a specific duration.

Source: www.solarmalaysia.com.my/aboutfit.php

By having access to the grid and setting a favorable price per unit of renewable energy, the FiT mechanism also ensures that renewable energy becomes a viable and sound long-term investment for companies, industries and individuals. This can happen if consumers are registered under SEDA Malaysia as one of the producers of renewable energy through solar panels, small hydro power, biomass and biogas at their homes or private lands.

Source: www.fit-seda-malaysia.com/Homeowners1.html

The basic concept of FiT mechanism is that the Distribution Licencees (DLs) pay the Feed-in Approval Holder (FiAH) for renewable energy that is generated and supplied to electricity grid on a premium tariff. A meter will be installed to record the amount of renewable energy produced by the system and passed to the main electricity grid. The energy generated from both conventional and renewable resources will be distributed to all electricity consumers as usual and DLs will credit the payment of the total electricity generated and supplied into the FiAH’s bank account. DLs will claim the money used to pay FiAH from the Renewable Energy Fund and that is actually the collection of 1.6% contribution from electricity consumers’ monthly bill.

Source: renewablekinabalu.blogspot.com/2012/11/malaysia-solar-energy-feed-in-tariff_12.html

The Cabinet has also agreed for the surcharge on consumers’ electricity bills that has been gazetted and collected from consumers. 1% surcharge is needed to achieve the target capacity of renewable energy in the long run. As of 2013, 1% surcharge was imposed on all electricity customers and domestic electricity consumers are obliged to contribute to the surcharge only if their monthly electricity consumption exceeds 300 kWh or RM 77 a month.

Source: www.seda.gov.my

This money is channelled into the Renewable Energy Fund and administered by SEDA Malaysia to pay the premium Feed-in Tariff rate to those producers who generate electricity from renewable resources at homes or in industrial companies. However, as of January 2014, this surcharge increases by 0.6% to be 1.6 % for current electricity users. This increase will also affect the consumers in Sabah and Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan as they are charged with 1.6% of their electricity bills for the first time. Please refer to www.seda.gov.my for more news and information about this tariff.

Source: www.solarmalaysia.com.my/aboutfit.php

The most common ways to generate renewable energy is by installing solar photovoltaic modules (solar PV) as the sun produces an abundant source of clean energy. This energy will then be converted into electricity by using solar PV technology that will help to reduce carbon footprint and provide a source of passive income through payments from the feed-in tariff. Before investing in a solar PV system, you need to check the following:

-Is the roof tilting less than 15 degrees?

Solar PV modules need maximum exposure to the sun and the roof should not tilt more than 15 degrees for countries lying along the equator as PV can lose nearly half of its potential energy yield.

-Will trees or buildings cast a shadow over the solar PV modules?

Parts of a PV module should not be under the shade as the amount of electricity generated will be reduced.

  

-Is your roof structurally sound?

It needs to take the extra weight of the solar PV modules together with the mounting structure.

Source: www.solarpowerbuzzmedia.com/

Before installation, make sure that you are registered with SEDA Malaysia and secure the feed-in tariff quota. FiT rate also depends on the capacity of your PV system and the year when the system achieves commercial operation. You can get the latest FiT and bonus rate at www.seda.gov.my and do not forget to apply for the quota if you are interested. Take care and God bless.