KUALA LUMPUR: Bina Puri Holdings Bhd, through its wholly-owned BP Energy Sdn Bhd, will develop a five megawatt (MW) of large scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Kunak, Sabah.
Bina Puri said it had received a letter of notification dated November 16, 2020 from the Energy Commission on the revision of the commercial operation date to December 31, 2022.
Bina Puri group executive director Datuk Matthew Tee Kai Woon said the company was "very positive" with the new development in the project implementation, despite having faced with various challenges in the early stage including the changes in local government and authorities.
"With this announcement, we are confident of securing more power projects into the portfolio.
"The Bina Puri group has been actively participating in the tender for projects both local and overseas, and will make the appropriate announcements on further projects secured to keep investors and the public informed from time to time," he said.
On June 5, 2017, Bina Puri power unit PT Megapower Makmur (MPOW), an independent power producer, was listed on the Indonesian stock exchange (IDX).
MPOW is operating four diesel power plants with a combined capacity of 14MW at four locations in Indonesia and a 4.2MW mini-hydro plant at Sulawesi Selatan.
Bina Puri is the first non-government linked company being successfully listed on IDX.
Bina Puri also supported the green energy initiatives by installing solar panels along the KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway to reduce energy bills under an arrangement with Tenaga Nasional Berhad.
Large scale solar plant is one of the EC's initiatives to increase the intake of renewable energy (RE) in the market.
Malaysia intends to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 45 per cent by 2030.
By then, Malaysia is targeted to have 30 per cent of RE including hydro and solar farms.
In Sabah, the demand of electricity is forecasted to grow at a rate of five per cent from 2019-2024, after the short term forecast of 6.1 per cent in 2015-2018.
By 2035, demand of electricity in Sabah is forecasted at 1,238 MWac of daily usage.