PONTIAN: The government aims to ensure that 40 per cent of the country's primary energy mix comes from renewable energy sources by 2035, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
The move, he said, would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 million tons annually, adding that the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (Petra) aimed to raise the percentage of renewable energy to 100 per cent in 2050.
"This effort is vital to ensure that environmental sustainability is preserved for future generations. This initiative supports the government's recommendation of using biomass and biogas to generate 1.4 gigawatts of energy in 2050.
"The country's energy sector represents 29 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs a quarter of the country's workforce. Therefore, changes in the energy system will not only impact income and economic development, but also the livelihood of the people who depend on affordable energy," he said during his speech at the launch of the Malakoff Corporation Berhad (Malakoff) Biomass Co-Firing Project at the Tanjung Bin energy plant here today, in the presence of Malakoff chairman Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali, Malakoff Group managing director and chief executive officer Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib.
Fadillah said that his ministry supported industry efforts to explore the use of new technology such as the production of green hydrogen, nuclear technology and large-scale energy storage batteries.
"The use of new technology will help reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels and reduce carbon intensity by 45 per cent in 2030 in line with the 2016 Paris Accords and the National Energy Transformation Roadmap (NETR) launched last year," he said.
In other developments, Fadillah said that the government is expected to begin implementing Third Party Access in the national electricity supply industry from September.
"Third party access means that other parties can supply energy if they have their own customers without going through or buying from Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).
"They can supply power generation themselves and supply directly to their customers but will rely on TNB's transmission lines. That's what we call Third Party Access. Therefore, the government will make an official announcement this July about the matter and it will be enforced in September," he said.
He also said that the implementation of Third Party Access was actually outlined in the NETR for next year.
"However, through Petra's internal planning, we want to bring its implementation forward following high interest from foreign investors to build data centres in the country, and it requires high energy sources," he added. - Bernama