KUALA LUMPUR: French energy firm Engie SA reached the commercial operation date (COD) of the Kerian Solar Project on August 5, 2022.
Located in the state of Perak, Malaysia, the project has a 100 megawatt (MW) or 136.44-megawatt peak (MWp) capacity and was developed by Kerian Solar, a special-purpose company formed by a joint-venture between TTL Energy Sdn Bhd and Engie.
Despite challenging soil conditions and the impact of Covid-19-related restrictions, Kerian Solar reached its COD 22 months after commencing construction activities in October 2020, with Ditrolic Energy as the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contractor.
Engie Australia and Southeast Asia renewables managing director Thierry Kalfon said the commissioning of the company's first solar farm in Malaysia is an important step towards delivering its renewable growth ambitions in Southeast Asia.
He said this contributes to Engie's commitment to reach 50 gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable energy sources (RES) capacity worldwide by 2025.
"We thank our partner Ditrolic for the excellent work conducted together, which made today's success possible," he said in a statement.
Kerian Solar was awarded the project under Malaysia's third round of the large-scale solar (LSS3) tender in 2019 by the Energy Commission.
However, initial studies began in late 2018, with BNP Paribas Malaysia Bhd, MUFG Bank (Malaysia) Bhd and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Malaysia Bhd supporting the green financing for Kerian Solar.
Upon reaching its COD, Kerian Solar entered into a 21-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) to sell carbon dioxide emissions-free electricity generated by the solar photovoltaic (PV) energy plant.
The energy produced will be transmitted to the grid to support the Malaysian government's target of generating 20 per cent of the country's energy through renewable means by 2025.
Kerian Solar will supply more than 212-gigawatt hours (GWh) of power per year, offsetting around 139,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of eliminating the annual carbon emissions of 11,800 Malaysian households.