KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and South Korean companies are investing US$7 million to explore the virtual power plant (VPP) concept to better regulate electricity supply via renewable sources when the national grid is in peak demand.
TNB Research chief strategy officer Dr. Mohd Fadzil Mohd Siam explained the VPP involved usage of five batteries, each at 1MW capacity, throughout Klang Valley for three years.
“We're investing US$2 million while our South Korean partners come up with US$5 million,” he said.
Today, TNB Research Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned unit of Tenaga Nasional Bhd, signed a research collaboration agreement with South Korean companies; I-ON Communications Corp, Busan City Gas Co Ltd and Shinwa SnC.
South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) Sung Yun Mo was present in Kuala Lumpur to witness the signing ceremony that was facilitated by Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
A VPP is a cloud-based distributed power plant that aggregates energy supply to meet sudden power surge from renewable sources like solar.
Mohd Fadzil said new technologies like VPP, Smart Meters and fully functional Smart Grid concepts have made large inroads into the utility space. “No one should want to be left behind.”