INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH

Int. J. Energy Res. (2014)

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/er.3190

REVIEW PAPER

The role of renewable and sustainable energy in the

energy mix of Malaysia: a review
Seyed Ehsan Hosseini*, and Mazlan Abdul Wahid
High Speed Reacting Flow Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai,
Johor, Malaysia

SUMMARY
Energy consumption has risen in Malaysia because of developing strategies and increasing rate of population. Depletion of
fossil fuel resources, uctuation in the crude oil prices, and emersion of new environmental problems due to greenhouse
gasses effects of fossil fuel combustion have convinced governments to invest in development of power generation based
on renewable and sustainable energy (RSE) resources. Recently, power generation from RSE resources has been taken into
account in the energy mix of every country to supply the annual electricity demand. In this paper, the scenario of the energy
mix of Malaysia and the role of RSE resources in power generation are studied. Major RSE sources, namely biomass and
biogas, hydro-electricity, solar energy, and wind energy, are discussed, focusing more toward the electrical energy demand
for electrication. It is found that power generation based on biomass and biogas utilization, solar power generation, and
hydropower has enough spaces for more development in Malaysia. Moreover, minihydropower and wind power generation
could be effective for rural regions of Malaysia. Copyright 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

KEY WORDS
energy; power generation; biogas; solar; biomass; hydropower

Correspondence
* Seyed Ehsan Hosseini, No.801, U8C, Perdana, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai, Johor, Malaysia, 81310

E-mail: Seyed.ehsan.hosseini@gmail.com

Received 22 December 2013; Revised 20 February 2014; Accepted 23 February 2014

1. INTRODUCTION gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 7.2%. On

The tropical country Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia
on the South China Sea between 100 and 120 in east
longitude, 1 and 7 in north latitude consists of 13 states
and three federal territories. The total population of Malaysia
was reported to be around 29.45 million in the year 2012
with around 70% living in urban regions. The total popula-
tion is anticipated to grow at the rate of 1.3% per annum
reaching about 40 million by 2035 [1,2]. The total land of
crescent-shaped Malaysia is around 330,000 sq km, which
consists of 60% West Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia) and
40% East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). The concentration
of Malaysia population is in Peninsular Malaysia with about
76% of the total population. The equatorial climate of
Malaysia has year-round average temperatures of 2035 C
and humidity of 8090%. Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand,
and Brunei Darussalam are Malaysias neighbors. Malaysia
shares electricity interconnections with Singapore and
Thailand. Also, gas grids link Malaysia to Thailand,
Singapore, and Indonesia. According to the Malaysian
Central Bank report, after the global economy downturn
in 2009, the economy in Malaysia resumed in 2010 with a
the basis of current trends, GDP growth of Malaysia is
projected to be 4% for the next 25 years [3,4]. Manufac-
turing, especially petroleum industries, the electrical and
electronics, and chemical products, are the major contribu-
tor to the Malaysian economy. Oil, natural gas (NG), coal,
and renewable energy (RE) are primary energy resources
in Malaysia, while coal is utilized mostly by the steel, iron,
and cement manufacturing industries. Agriculture and
mining are two other economic elds; each sector contri-
buted 7.7% of the GDP [5]. The share of oil, NG, and coal
consumption for energy generation in Malaysia are about
39%, 37%, and 18%, respectively. Biomass, municipal
solid waste (MSW), and sewage up another 4%, and hydro-
electric power contributes just 2% of the total energy gener-
ation. As economic growth of Malaysia is heavily reliant on
the oil and NG consumption, fuel diversication through
coal and RE has been taken into consideration by the
Government. Malaysia is the fth highest oil reserves in
Asia-Pacic after China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia,
and one of the top 30 highest oil reserves in the world.
Three producing oil basins are the Malay basin offshore
Peninsular Malaysia (the most countrys oil reserves are in

Copyright 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid
this area with light and sweet crude oil), Sarawak basin, and
Sabah basin. Also, it was reported that Malaysia has 83
trillion cubic feet of NG reserves, which is the third largest
NG reserves holder in the Asia-Pacic. The economys NG
reserves lie offshore of Peninsular Malaysias east coast,
Sabah and Sarawak. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate top oil and
NG reserve holders in Asia-Pacic area, respectively [6].
The reserves of NG and oil are projected to deplete after
39 and 25 years, respectively [7]. Although Malaysias oil
quality is high, oil production has decreased to extend the
lifetime of reserves. During the last decade, Malaysia
experienced overall oil production 862,000 barrels per
day because of maturing elds, especially larger elds in
the shallow waters offshore [8]. In 2012, total oil produc-
tion was reported 643,000 barrels per day, which was
slightly higher than the year 2011 by 626,000 barrels per
day. Over the past decade, the export of the Malaysian
oil has mitigated because domestic oil consumption
increased while production decreased. Therefore, the
Government has taken some new policies to bring oil
production back to prior levels of 800,000 billion barrels
per day by the year 2015. The policy of the Malaysian
Government in oil and gas eld has focused on preparing
affordable fuel to its population by maintaining the
reserves. Since 2010, subsides of gasoline, diesel, and
liqueed petroleum gas started to reduce in order to
decrease government expenditures. Despite the gap between
total oil export and import, Malaysia is still considered as a
total net oil exporter. The major part of produced oil in
Malaysia is exported to Japan, Thailand, Australia, and
30
25
Billion Barrels
20
15
10
5 during the next two decades in Malaysia. Figure 4 depicts
0 consumption in Malaysia related to the last decade [11].
China India Vietnam Indonesia Malaysia
Figure 1. Top Asia-Pacic oil reserve holders [6].
Australia
India
Malaysia
Indonesia
China
0 20 40 60 80 100
Figure 2. Top Asia-Pacic natural gas reserve holders [6].
Int. J. Energy Res. (2014) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia
India. Moreover, Malaysias crude oil is provided from
Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. In 2012,
Malaysia after Qatar was the second largest liquid natural
gas (LNG) exporter in the world. Japan, South Korea,
Taiwan, and China were Malaysias main LNG consumers
by 63%, 17%, 12%, and 8%, respectively [8]. In Malaysia,
coal is utilized by iron and steel industries, cement manu-
facturers, and power generation. Bituminous and sub-
bituminous coals are the bulk of coal deposit in Malaysia,
which most of these coal reserves are far inland and infra-
structure is lacking. Because of the high extraction cost, coal
utilization has not been actively pursued. The required coal is
imported from Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and South
Africa [9]. Renewable and sustainable energy (RSE)
resources, especially biomass and hydropower, are in
abundance in the Malaysian economy. The hydroelectric
potential is assessed at 29,000 MW, mostly located in East
Malaysia. Small-scale power generations such as wind,
solar, minihydro, and biomass generate about 773.7 MW,
which is 15.3% of currently grid connected, and the rest is
for self-generation in the industry sectors. Over 90% of this
so-called clean electricity is based on biomass power gener-
ation (BioGen). In 2011, the Government approved a feed-in
tariffs system that came into effect to encourage private
sectors to invest in RSE and accelerate RE development in
the economy [10]. In order to review the energy policies
and energy status of Malaysia and its neighbors, an overview
of energy scenario of these countries is presented in Table I.
Moreover, Figure 3 compares the rate of energy demand and
pollutant formation in Malaysia and its neighbors [8].
2. ENERGY DEMAND IN MALAYSIA
In recent years, the rate of energy demand has risen dramat-
ically in Malaysia because of its development strategies.
NG and oil resources are depleted because of the wide-
spread utilization of their limited resources. It is projected
that the rate of energy demand increases 57% annually
the trends of total primary energy production and energy
Australia
Electricity is the most important kind of energy for
industrial sectors in all over the world. Most of the activi-
ties associated with development efforts in Malaysia such
as industrial enterprises rely heavily on electric power
generation [12]. Electricity demand has augmented sharply
in Malaysia because of rapid industrialization and increas-
ing rate of population [13]. Dependence on the electricity
power is likely to cause crucial problems for new opening
factories in Malaysia. Total electricity generation jumped
around 72% in the last decade from 66 TWh in the year
2000 to about 113 TWh in 2012, and it is anticipated to
increase by the rate of 4.7% per annum to 274 TWh by
the year 2030. This phenomenon indicates that most of
the Malaysian industries and residential sectors depend
120 140
on the electricity signicantly. Industrial sectors, commer-
cials and residential, demand, and transportation are the
Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid

Table I. Energy scenario in Malaysia and its neighbors [8].

Country Overview of energy scenario of the country

Malaysia Second largest oil and NG producer in Southeast Asia

The second largest exporter of liqueed NG globally
Fifth highest in Asia-Pacic and one of the top 30 highest reserves in the world
The worlds second largest exporter of liqueed NG
NG production has risen over the past two decades to serve the growing domestic demand and export contracts
Extensive gas pipeline network running through Peninsular Malaysia and pipelines that connect offshore elds
A majority of Malaysias electricity generation capacity is based on NG utilization
Development of electricity generation based on other methods such as utilization of coal, diesel, and renewables
such as hydroelectricity and biomass
Indonesia The worlds eighth largest net exporter of NG
The majority of natural gas exports are conducted to Japan as LNG shipments and to Singapore via pipelines
The third largest exporter of LNG
Expected growth in gas demand led the government to pursue policies that secure domestic LNG supplies for
the local market
Indonesia is one of the worlds largest exporter of coal by weight
Indonesia has 6.1 billion short tons of recoverable coal
Indonesias government encourages the use of coal in the power sector, because of relatively abundant domestic
supply and as a way to reduce the use of expensive diesel and fuel oil
Generation capacity growth in Indonesia has lagged behind the pace of electricity demand growth, leading to
power shortages and a low electrication ratio
The third largest geothermal generator in the world
Thailand Although Thailand is a growing producer of NG, the country is a net importer of oil and NG
After Singapore, Thailand is the second largest net oil importer in Southeast Asia
New established projects will increase NG generation in Thailand, but the Government has designed various NG
import schemes to meet growing domestic demand
Thailands power generation is dependent on NG, and the government has planned ways to diversify fuel sources
to apply more RSE and potentially nuclear capacity in the future
Singapore Singapore has become one of Asias petrochemical and rening hubs due to its strategic location between the
Indian and Pacic Oceans
Although Singapore has no domestic oil reserves and must import all its crude oil, it has excellent rening, storage,
and distribution infrastructure
The Singapore Government has promoted application of NG. Malaysia and Indonesia currently supply all of the
countrys NG
Around 80% of Singapores electricity generation is performed on the basis of NG utilization
NG, natural gas; LNG, liquid natural gas; RSE, renewable and sustainable energy.

main consumers of electricity in Malaysia by 44%, 34%,
21%, and less than 1%, respectively. It has been pro-
jected that the demand of the electricity per capita will
be around 7571 kWh/person in the year 2030 [14]. NG,
coal, and oil have been applied widely in electricity
generation in Malaysia. Besides burning the fossil fuels,
the electricity also is generated by hydroelectric. Figure 5
illustrates the amount of electricity generation in differ-
ent years based on the percentage of the different elec-
tricity production methods [15]. In addition, Figure 6
shows the rate of power generation and electricity con-
sumption in Malaysia [11].
From the observations, the percentage of electricity
generation in Malaysia based on the coal source performed
an increasing percentage from 10% in 2000 to around 37%
in 2012. The increase may be due to opening new coal re
power plants and also government licensing of indepen-
dent power producer (IPP). The transmission and distribu-
tion of electricity are carried out by a special state unity
located in each of three states in Malaysia. Statistics shows
that around 42% of annual electricity demand in Peninsular
Malaysia is generated by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB),
and the remainder is generated by Petronas Gas and IPPs.
Sarawak state government controls all of Sarawaks elec-
tricity generation through a joint venture Sarawak Elec-
tricity Supply Berhad. In Sabah, half of electricity
demand is supplied by IPPs, and the rest is generated by
a consortium of TNB (80%) and Sabah government
(20%). Malaysia has three power transmission grids in
Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and Sabah. The electricity
grid in Peninsular Malaysia is the largest that is connected
to electricity grids in Thailand and Singapore [15].
Throughout all of these years, the mainstream electricity
production in Malaysia (nearly 90%) was dominated by
the fossil fuels. However, fossil fuel resources are depleted
day by day because of the widespread utilization of their
limited resources [16]. NG was taken into account for more
than half of installed capacity in 2012 of which most of

Int. J. Energy Res. (2014) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia

(A)

(B)

Figure 3. (A) Energy demand and (B) pollutant formation in Malaysia and its neighbors [8].

3.5

3
Quadrillion Btu

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Year

Figure 4. Total primary energy production and energy consumption in Malaysia from 2000 to 2012 [11].

Int. J. Energy Res. (2014) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid

Percentage

Year
Figure 5. Electricity generation based on the different production methods in Malaysia [15].

140

120
Billion Kilowatthours

100

80 Total Electricity
Generation
Electric Power
60 Consumption

40

20

0
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

Figure 6. Power generation and electricity consumption in Malaysia [11].

them are located in Peninsular Malaysia. Because of NG
shortages in Peninsular Malaysia, some of those capacities
have dual-fuel capabilities. To compensate shortages of
NG resources, Peninsular Malaysia decided to import
LNG and shared its power generation based on other fuels
such as coal or hydroelectricity. In addition, diesel is taken
into account for a small portion of the electricity (around
5.8% in 2012). Indeed, the role of coal in electricity gener-
ation has become more highlighted from 2012 with 35% of
total installed capacity, which is becoming more competi-
tive with NG. The Malaysian Government has signed con-
struction contracts of two supercritical coal technology
power plants in Manjung and Tanjung Bin on Peninsular
Malaysia. Hydroelectric capacity with around 10% of total
power capacity in 2012 has attracted more attention for
signicant expansion. Most of the hydropower plants are
located in Peninsular Malaysia. Biomass as one of the most
important RSE is another key renewable fuel for electricity
generated in Malaysia. The Malaysian Governments aim
is that RSE, excluding large hydropower plants, accounts
for 5.5% of electricity power capacity by the year 2015
compared with 1% in 2012. Also, the Government per-
suades private sectors to invest in other types of RSE
projects. As part of these attempts, the feed-in tariffs have
been enacted for biomass, solar, wind, minihydro-powers,
and biogas projects. It has been projected that RSE power
generation will increase from 219 MW in 2011 to 2080 MW
in 2020 [17,18].

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DOI: 10.1002/er
S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia

3. ENERGY POLICY IN MALAYSIA Authority act were established in 2011. Both of these acts
set up the framework for the new feed-in tariff mechanism.
In 1979, Malaysias National Energy Policy was dened Under the current ve-year Malaysian plan, the crucial
by the Economic Planning Unit under the Prime Ministers issue is rationalizing fuel subsidies because of impeding
department. Malaysias National Energy Policy included long-term growth potential. As subsidies are unsustainable
the supply objective (to ensure the cost-effective supply and may have negative effects on market efciency
of energy), the utilization objective (to promote efcient and conduct to sub-optimal resource allocation, the
application of energy), and the environmental objective Government decided taking steps to restructure subsidy
(to decrease the negative effects of energy generation, dedications. On the basis of the New Energy Policy
transportation, conversion, and consumption on the envi- (NEP), the NG price to the power sector will be gradually
ronment). Subsequent energy policies were extended to increased by $0.98 per million British thermal units every
support these objectives as the instrumental factors in 6 months, nally reaching the market price by the year
Malaysias energy development. In order to preserve the 2016. During this period, vehicle fuel subsidies remain
oil and NG resources, the National Depletion Policy was unchanged. The energy security by developing alternative
adopted in 1980. On the basis of the National Depletion energy resources, with emphasis on renewable and
Policy adjustments, the annual production of NG and oil sustainable power generation and biofuels for the transpor-
should be limited to prolong the natural resources. In tation sector, has been addressed in the NEP. Some
1981, the Four-Fuel Diversication Policy was introduced programs such as Green Building Index initiatives and the
to diversify the energy mix applied in power generation. Malaysia Green Labeling Program have been projected
The initial aims of the policy were to decrease the depen- under the NEP to extend and enhance the efcient use of
dence of economy on oil as the principal energy resource energy in Malaysia [21,22]. According to NREP, the contri-
and to optimize of the energy mix of hydro, NG, coal, bution of RE resources in national electricity supply should
and oil in electricity generation. As a result, the domination be intensied to obtain socio-economic development. The
of the electricity generation based on oil utilization has most important policies that have been highlighted in
signicantly decreased and replaced by the other resources. NREP are the following:
The Five-Fuel Diversication Policy was adopted in 2001
to incorporate RSE resources as the fth fuel after oil, To raise the contribution of RE in electricity generation.
gas, coal, and hydro. In 2006, the National Biofuel Policy To prepare suitable facilities for RE industry
was constituted to diversify fuel use in transportation development.
sector and other non-power sectors. On the basis of this To study the cost of various REs.
policy, the biofuel production by the blending of petroleum To protect the environment for future.
diesel (95%) with processed palm oil (5%) was promoted. To increase awareness on the importance of RSE.
The biodiesel quality was ensured by establishing an
industry standard, and private sectors were encouraged The outcome of NREP has been shown in Table II.
for palm oil-based biodiesel production by encouraging Also, Table III demonstrates the power generation
the establishment of biodiesel plants [19]. On the basis of based on RSE utilization in Malaysia. The investments
Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen 2009, the Govern- on RE small power plants have a capacity of more
ment of Malaysia pledged voluntarily to mitigate CO2 than 10 MW. The electricity producers that utilize RE
emission intensity of GDP up to 40% by the year 2020 in are given a license for a period of 21 years that is
comparison with the year 2005. Therefore, the National effective from the date of commissioning of the plant.
Green Technology Policy (NGTP) was established [20]. It has been reported that 17 power plant projects out
Attaining energy independence, environmental conserva- of 43 projects under renewable resources have been
tion, and development of economy by green technology licensed [23].
growth and improving quality of life for all Malaysian The power plants on operation based on renewable
citizens were the most important goals of NGTP policy. resources application in Malaysia are Jana Landll (2 MW),
Some initiatives such as the organization of the annual
International Green-tech and Eco Products Exhibition and Table II. The outcome of National Renewable Energy Policy [23].
Conference Malaysia, adopting the Green Technology
Annual
Fund Scheme, which provides $490 million for green
Total Share of renewable
technology schemes, the restructuring of the Malaysian renewable renewable energy Renewable
Green Technology Corporation, and the development of Year energy energy generation energy
Cyberjaya and Putrajaya as the townships in Green Tech- ending (MW) capacity (%) (GWh) mix (%)
nology, were programmed by NGTP. In 2010, the National
Renewable Energy Policy (NREP) and action plan were 2011 219 1 1230 1
adopted by the Malaysian Government to enhance indige- 2015 985 6 5385 5
nous RE resources contribution in electricity generation 2020 2080 11 11246 9
and sustainable socio-economic development. Under 2030 4000 17 17232 12
2050 21370 73 44208 24
NREP, the RE act and the Sustainable Energy Development

Int. J. Energy Res. (2014) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid

Table III. Power generation by RSE in Malaysia [23]. RE was announced as the fth fuel in the new ve-fuel
Grid
strategy in the energy supply mix. According to Figure 7,
No. of connected
the available RSE resources such as biomass, biogas, solar,
approved capacity and minihydro for energy generation contributed around
RSE Sources projects (MW) 5% of the countrys total electricity demand. Figure 8
demonstrates the trend of electricity generation on the basis
Biomass Empty fruit 19 189 of RE resources in Malaysia from 2000 to 2012 [11].
bunches Malaysia also plans to achieve 985 MW or 5.5% share of
Wood chips renewable resources in the energy mix by 2015 as shown
Rice husk 1 10 in Figure 9 [26].
MSW 1 5
Today, the renewable resources donate less than 2% to
Landll gas 2 3
the total energy mix in Malaysia. By the year 2020, the
Biogas (agro-based) 7 17.85
renewable resources need to increase about 11% or
Minihydro 13 61.3
2080 MW of overall electricity generation in the country
Wind and solar 0 0
and to establish much long ambitious target to 25% of total
Total 43 286.15
usage of RSE by the year 2050 [27]. It implies that the
RSE, renewable and sustainable energy; MSW, municipal solid waste.
utilization of RSE is going to be developed by the
Malaysian Government to reduce the dependence of non-
renewable sources.
Esajadi Power (2 MW), Amcorp Properties Berhad (4 MW),
Recycle Energy (5.5 MW), Kina Biopower (10 MW), TSH
Bio-Energy Project (10 MW), and Seguntur Energy 4.1. Biomass
(10 MW) [24].
Biomass that is derived from living matters such as trees,
agricultural and forest wastes, and elds crops is abundant
in Malaysia. Malaysia has an equatorial climate with
4. RENEWABLE AND SUSTAINABLE 3540 mm annual fall, which is excellent region for agricul-
ENERGY IN MALAYSIA tural activities [15]. Generally, signicant amount of the
Malaysian economic development is in debt of agricultural
Utilization of RSE resources is very important to avoid de- sector because of its high GDP impact [28]. The agricultural
pendence on power generation from non-renewable activities in Malaysia have been developed conspicuously
sources [25]. In agreement with the eighth Malaysian plan, because of its tropical weather. Thus, residues from

Figure 7. Available renewable and sustainable energy resources in Malaysia.

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S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid
Electricity(Billion Kilowatthours)
Year
Figure 8. The trend of power generation based on different renewable and sustainable energy utilization in Malaysia [11].
Figure 9. Renewable and sustainable energy capacity by the year 2015 (MW) [26].
agricultural sections such as oil palm waste, wood waste,
and rice husk are contributed to the biomass energy produc-
tion. More than 20% of total land of Malaysia is dedicated
to agricultural activities. Because the land of the country
is limited, development of biomass resources for power
generation has restricted [29]. Palm, tea, coconut, pepper,
tobacco, coffee, cocoa, sugarcane, and pineapple are the
most important agricultural products in Malaysia. These
crops are used for nutrition purposes, and they are con-
trolled by Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry.
BioGen strategy was introduced in 2002 by the Malaysian
Government to promote biomass grid-connected power
generation projects and control the increasing rate of green-
house gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel combustion by
applying palm oil mills byproducts. BioGen encouraged the
private investors by some facilities such as tax exemption,
favorable bank loans, preparing technical assistance in
strategy formulation, and providing primary frustrations to
convince them in biomass small power generation plan
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DOI: 10.1002/er
Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia
investment. Some conspicuous biogas small power genera-
tion projects have been executed under BioGen strategy
such as 14 MW power plant in Tawau and 700 MW power
plant in Sabah that palm oil mills byproducts have been
employed for power generation [24]. Biomass fuels contrib-
ute about 16% of the energy consumption in Malaysia,
where 51% comes from palm oil biomass waste, 27% from
wood waste, and 2% from paddy residues [14]. Palm oil in-
dustry has been introduced as an excellent livelihood to ru-
ral families as well as recruitment opportunities to
agricultural workers in Malaysia [30]. Also, the Malaysian
Government designed some programs such as the Malay-
sian Palm Oil Board to develop biomass production through
palm oil mills, and Malaysia has become the largest ex-
porter of the crude palm oil in the world [31]. The Malay-
sian Government has conducted this country to apply
biofuel in industrial sectors, apply power generation, and
export by national biomass polices [32]. Table IV illustrates
the active palm oil-based biodiesel plants in Malaysia.
Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid

Table IV. Palm oil-based biodiesel plants in Malaysia [32]. illustrates the scenario of solid wastes generation in
Number Plant capacity
Malaysian palm oil factories from 1990 to 2020 [35].
No. Plant location of plant (ktons/year)
The annual palm oil production in Malaysia is about 53
million tones, which around 13 million tone EFBs are
1 Pasir Gudang, Johor 4 630 generated from this industry annually [36]. EFB is one of
2 Lahad Datu, Sabah 2 300 the most valuable solid wastes in palm oil mills, which
3 Kuantan, Pahang 1 200 are burnt as a fuel in mills boilers [37]. However, inciner-
4 Ipoh, Perak 1 200 ation of EFB in boilers is not appropriate strategy for
5 Teluk Panglima 1 150 energy extraction from these valuable materials because
Garang, Selangor of irreversibility of combustion process [38]. The moisture
6 Setiawan, Perak 1 60
of the EFB, ber, and shell was reported to be 60, 35, and
10%, respectively [38,39].The organic matter in EFB can
Palm oil and related products are the second largest generate biogas in anaerobic digestion, and the remaining
export of Malaysia. The total oil palm planted area in materials are rich fertilizer for plantation [40]. EFB size
Malaysia has increased signicantly in recent years [33]. reduction via mechanical treatments can augment the rate
This situation leads Malaysia to the large amounts of of biogas production in anaerobic digestion, but the energy
available palm oil residues such as fruit bers, shell empty consumption is very high, and this method is not econom-
fruit bunches (EFBs), trunks, and fronds as great potentials ical [41]. Because Malaysia is one of the poles of palm oil
of energy resources. This abundance of oil palm waste can production in the world, huge amount of solid waste gener-
be a compelling reason for selecting biomass as the accept- ates in palm plantation and milling process. However, just
able RE sources to be developed for large-scale application 60% of the palm solid residues are considered as a fuel of
and addresses environmental concerns related to current the boilers in the mill to generate steam and electricity. In
waste disposal method [33]. Palm oil mill efuent (POME) 2011, the number of active palm oil mills in Malaysia
and EFBs are the most important waste materials in palm was reported 532 mills; however, just 10 mills utilized
oil factories. Figure 10 demonstrates the energy generation their solid residue as the fuel [42]. Mahlia et al. [38]
from waste material recirculation in Malaysian palm oil pointed out that the produced shell and ber from a palm
factories schematically [34]. oil mill can supply the required energy of the factory.
A large number of biomass solid wastes released from Wood waste can be also considered as one of the important
palm oil mills can be used as the source of RE. Figure 11 biomass resources for electricity generation in Malaysia.

Figure 10. Energy generation from waste material of palm oil mills [34].

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S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid
Tone
Year
Figure 11. The scenario of solid wastes generation in Malaysian palm oil factories [35].
There are ve mills in Malaysia, which apply wood waste
as fuel and for power generation and produce between
900 kW and 10 MW of power. The wood industry has
great potential to raise the number of mills that can gener-
ate electricity with wood-based fuels [43]. After palm oil
and wood, paddy is the major source for BioGen in
Malaysia [44]. Rice is the substantial agricultural product
in the north part of the country. From August 1 to February
28 is the main period of paddy planting, and from March
31 to July 31 of the year is off season of paddy planting
period. The main paddy cultivation solid residues are
paddy straws and paddy straws that are produced during
paddy eld and rice milling, respectively. The productivity
of paddy industry was reported 8 tons per hectare in 2012,
and it is projected to increase to 910 tons per hectare by
2020. This strategy could provide plenty of paddy straw
and rice husk for biomass combined heat and power
generation. At present, electricity generation based on
86,400-ton paddy residue consumption per annum is
performed just by two rice mills in the north part of
Malaysia [45]. Ghani et al. [46] stipulated that the raw rice
husk ash is eligible to be applied for construction materials
because of its good mechanical characteristics. Therefore,
not only utilization of rice husk as a boiler fuel could be
helpful for waste management and power generation, but
also the ash residue gives valuable benets for the rice
mills. Indeed, the waste of pineapple has great potential
to be applied as a source of RSE due to wide cultivation
of pineapple either for domestic or for export market
purposes. The solid waste of pineapple is about 50% of
its total weight [47]. Application of pineapple waste has
become a routine in tropical countries. Establishment of a
4-MW power plant in the Philippines applying 220 t/day
of pineapple waste is under implementation [48]. Coconut
is the other important crop in Malaysia. Recently, some in-
vestigations on the usage of coconut for energy generation
and commercialization have been performed by Malaysia
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Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia
Agriculture Research Development Institute [49]. In the
northern part of Malaysia, the large areas have been allo-
cated to sugarcane cultivation. The sugarcane industry
has excellent potential to be applied as a biomass energy
source due to generation of by-products such as bagasse
and dry leaves, cane tops, and granulated sugar in milling
process. The brous by-product that remains after sugar
juice recovery in crushing and extraction process is sugar-
cane bagasse. It is reported that all of the bagasse are
utilized as boiler fuels for sugar production process in
Malaysia. Approximately 68% of sugarcane waste is
leaves and cane that are usually burnt up in the replanting
process. The caloric value of dry bagasse and both wastes
leaves and cane is reported 14.4 and 17.39 MJ/kg, respec-
tively [50,51]. The efciency of power generation based
on biomass utilization is various because of different
energy conversion technology. The average efciency is
about 30%. Table V depicts the efciency of various
biomass energy conversion processes [5254].
However, utilization of biomass resources in power
generation faces some challenges in Malaysia. A lack of
local manufacturers for the efcient biomass energy
conversion has been mentioned as the main barrier for
biomass development [5562].
4.2. Biogas
Exploitation of biomass wastes promises new clean alter-
native energy resources [63]. Biogas commonly generated
in anaerobic conditions of waste from households, food
industries, dedicated energy crops, and agricultural waste
products [6466]. Biogas utilization in the power genera-
tion has very high potential in Malaysia because of the
large amounts of animal manure and slurries produced by
the animal breeding sector as well as the wet organic waste
streams and agricultural mills efuent [67,68]. It has been
reported that small scale of biogas power plant gives
Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia
Table V. Efciency of various biomass energy conversion
processes [5254].
Power generation method Efciency
Direct combustion 0.190.26
Supercritical water gasication-combined cycle 0.29
Thermal gasication combined-cycle 0.160.30
Methanol red 0.26
Anaerobic digestion of biomass 0.40
Gasication cogeneration system 0.22
Fluidized bed gasication-combined cycle 0.42
Fluidized bed gasication gas engine 0.34
Fluidized bed combustion steam turbine 0.31
Grate ring 0.30
acceptable efciency [69]. By implementing the biogas
power generations, the residues from industrial waste,
agriculture waste, and municipal waste can be managed
optimally. Environment Protection Society Malaysia was
established in 1979 to design suitable strategies for
recycling and recovering solid wastes. Environment Pro-
tection Society Malaysia recommended separation of
wastes component at its generation point, and separated
waste must be placed in separate containers, and organic
waste should be used in biogas plant for composting and
energy generation [70]. Basically, the sources of biogas
in Malaysia are palm oil waste, municipal waste, landlls,
and banana. Biogas application in power generation is an
appropriate way to avoid GHG production and converting
the nutrients and organic matter to the natural environment
when all steps from production to utilization are performed
in closed loops by optimal recycling measures [71].
Figure 12 shows by-product generated from Lepar Hilir
mill in Pahang, Malaysia, and the biogas production pro-
cess in this factory [72].
Figure 12. The schematic of by-products and biogas generation from Lepar Hilir mill in Pahang, Malaysia [72].
S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid
4.2.1. Biogas from palm oil mill effluent
The palm fruit mesocarp debris, which is a mixture of
separator sludge, sterilizer condensate, and hydrocyclone
waste by the ratio of 15:9:1, is appeared as a colloidal sus-
pension POME [73]. For one tone crude palm oil produc-
tion, around 2.53 tons POME is produced [74]. About
95% of POME is water, 1% oil, and less than 4% is
suspended solid. POME can be applied as a signicant
bioresource of energy due to methane (CH4) production
in anaerobic digesting process [75]. Most of the palm oil
factories in Malaysia use POME as a feedstock for biogas
generation [7678]. The composition of biogas released
from POME depends on the treatment process. CH4 gener-
ation in different biogas plants is not the same due to dif-
ferent chemical composition of the feedstock [79]. Biogas
production has been estimated around 28.3 m3 per cubic
meter of digested POME. Although environmentally char-
acteristics of palm oil-based biodiesel combustion have
been proven [80,81], biogas capturing from digesters is
necessary for environmental conservation.
4.2.2. Biogas from municipal solid waste
Developments of urbanization and population growth in
Malaysia have signicant effects on MSW generation that
has augmented from 5.6 million tons in 1997 to around
8 million tons in 2010 in Peninsular Malaysia and nearly
about 310,220 tons of anthropogenic methane emissions
that happen per year. This amount of methane produced
approximately 1.9 billion kWh of electricity annually
worth over $190 million [82]. Figure 13 shows the sustain-
able strategy for MSW management involving sorting,
incineration, and digestion steps [83].
It has been projected that MSW generation increases up
to 9 million tons by 2020. The state of Selangor is the main
producer of MSW followed by FT Kuala Lumpur due to
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S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia

Figure 13. Municipal solid waste management [83].

2%

9%
Domestic
24% 49% Commercial/Institutional
Industrial
Construction
16%
Municipal

Figure 14. Contribution of various units in municipal solid waste production in Malaysia [87].

their high population density in the country [84]. Anaerobic Table VI. Distribution of operational and non-operational landll
digestion is an efcient system to capture released CH4 sites in Malaysia [88].
from organic MSW [85,86]. In Malaysia, most of the
landll facilities are not sanitary. Fire incidents due to State Operational landll Non-operational landll
landll gasses (LFGs) emission and pollution due to Johor 13 21
leachate discharge have created a lot of problems. Con- Kedah 10 5
verting the landll sites to sanitary status is the best strategy Kelantan 13 4
to solve these problems, and at the same time, released CH4 Melaka 2 5
from MSW can be captured and utilized as a source of RE. Negeri Sembilan 8 10
Figure 14 shows the main MSW producers in Malaysia [87]. Pahang 19 13
On the basis of Table VI, the number of operational and Perak 20 9
non-operational landll sites in Malaysia is reported 176 Perlis 1 1
and 114 sites, respectively, by the capacity between Pulai Pinang 1 2
8 and 60 ha [88]. Sabah 21 1
A conspicuous percentage of LFG is carbon dioxide Sarawak 51 12
(CO2) that is GHG. This CO2 can be captured in ltering Selangor 6 12
process at minimal costs and sell to CO2 users. Among Terengganu 9 12
these landlls, just 10 landlls are sanitary in Peninsular FT Kuala Lumpur 1 7
Malaysia, and four are in Sarawak. The largest amount of FT Labuan 1 0
MSW by around 19 million ton is disposed in Pulau FT Putrajaya 0 0
Total 176 114
Burung in Pinang with 45,538 t CO2 eq recovery, while

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Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid

Table VII. Potential of power generation from municipal solid waste in Malaysia [84].

Revenue from Equivalent electricity Revenue from

Emitted CO2 equivalent carbon credit Volume of Caloric value generation electricity
6 6 3 9 9 6
Year CH4 (ton) (Mt CO2 eq)a (10 $)b CH4 (10 m ) (10 kWh)c (10 kWh)d (10 $)e

2000 241,071 5.06 66.79 361.43 6.14 1.70 170.34

2005 263,820 5.54 73.13 395.53 6.72 1.86 186.48
2010 310,225 6.51 85.93 465.10 7.91 2.20 219.50
2015 344,858 7.24 95.57 517.03 8.78 2.44 243.65
2020 371,696 7.81 103.09 557.27 9.47 2.63 262.79
a
Based on GWP of 21 for CH4.
b
At a cost of $23.20/ton of CO2.
c 3
Caloric value of 17 MJ/m of CH4.
d
1 MJ = 0.2775 kWh.
e
At $0.1/kWh.

Table VIII. Characteristics of the biogas reported from Hitam Malaysia with capacity of 2 MW. Also, the comparison
Sanitary Landll, Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia [4]. between characteristics of NG, biogas, and LFG is shown
Fuel Composition More than 55% are methane gas
in Table IX [4].

Moisture level of Maximum at 80% moisture level 4.2.3. Biogas from banana waste
the biogas About 13,356 cm3 methane released from combination
Temperature 24 C of banana and plantain peels in digesting process. Banana
3
Caloric value 5.32 kWh/m
3
peels capable to produce about 8800 cm3 of CH4 lonely
Biogas production rate 40 m /h and plantain peels can release around 2409 cm3 of CH4 in
Biogas feeding system Direct extraction from gas eld digesting systems [91]. The banana residue/waste is
3
Monitored emission Nox < 500 mg/m
chopped and grounded to minimize size at the rst step.
Some pre-treatments are usually performed to enhance
the rate of biodegradation. Then, it is either added directly
the highest CH4 recovery by 219,625 t CO2 eq is into the reactor or as slurry, which is operated at suitable
performed in Bukit Tagar in Kuala Lumpur by approxi- temperature for bacteria growth. Figure 15 shows a com-
mately 3 million ton disposal capacity [89]. In 2010, the mon ow for the anaerobic digestion process based on
total CH4 emission from MSW was mentioned about CH4 fermentation [92].
310,000 tons with $19.5*106 revenue, and it is anticipated Bardiya et al. [93] studied the biomethanation of
to increase to 345,000 and 372,000 tons in 2015 and 2020 pineapple wastes and banana peel at different hydraulic
with $243.65*106 and $262.79*106 incomes, respectively. residence time (HRT) and showed that the rate of released
The potential of power generation from released MSW methane in low retention time is higher. The minimum
CH4 is presented in Table VII [84]. HRT banana peel was reported 25 days, resulting in a max-
Every waste stream has its own biodegradability imum rate of gas production of 0.76 vol/vo/day with 36%
depending on the composition [90]. Table VIII illustrates substrate application, when pineapple-processing waste
the characteristics of generated LFG from Hitam Sanitary digesters could be operated at 10 days HRT, with
Landll, Puchong, Selangor, which is the RE project in 0.93 vol/vol/day gas production and 58% substrate

Table IX. Characteristic comparison between natural gas, biogas, and landll gas [4].

Constituents Units Natural Gas Biogas Landll gas

Methane CH4 Vol % 91 5570 4558

Ethane C2H6 Vol % 5.1 0 0
Propane C3H8 Vol % 1.8 0 0
Butane C4H10 Vol % 0.9 0 0
Pentane Vol % 0.3 0 0
CO2 Vol % 0.61 3045 3245
Nitrogen (N2) Vol % 0.32 02 03
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) Vol % 0 0 0.250.5
Hydrogen (H2) Vol % 0 0 Trace to less than 1%
Hydrogen sulde (H2S) ppm ~1 ~500 10200
Ammonia (NH3) ppm 0 ~100 0
Carbon monoxide (CO) ppm 0 0 Trace

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S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid
Figure 15. Generalized anaerobic digestion process scheme [92].
application. For pineapple-processing, waste retention time
reduction does not affect the methane content conspicu-
ously, but with banana peel, an HRT below 25 days shows
a drastic decrease in methane content. The quantity of
methane is estimated around 50% of biogas produced from
banana. Around 58.71 Mw of energy can be generated
from combustion process of 1 L of banana biogas [93].
4.2.4. Biogas from animal waste
Generally, manure from animal production especially
from pig and cow farms is one of the most important bio-
gas resources in the world [94,95]. Figure 16 demonstrates
a schematic of an animal waste biogas plant that has been
constructed at a commercial farm in Semenyih, Selangor,
Malaysia [96].
The participating commercial dairy farm has 150 heads
of cattle including 45 young cattle. In initiating the opera-
tion of the biogas plant, the dairy farm is cleaned twice a
day. The slurry is then channeled directly from the cow
shed into the collection sump through an underground
drainage piping system. A bar screen is installed at the
collection sump to prevent the unwanted impurities from
entering the inlet chamber that may clog the pump. After
that, the slurry is channeled into the inlet chamber from
the collection sump and left to settle for a specic time
until the sediment slurry formed at the base of the inlet
chamber. The slurry is pumped into the biogas digester
once daily until the biogas digester reaches its capacity.
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Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia
The slurry is pumped from the top of the biogas digester
in order to avoid the formation of a hard crust that will
disturb the process of producing biogas and possibly trap
biogas in the slurry. This technique is quite signicant
because the maintenance cost of the biogas digester could
be reduced if there is no formation of a hard crust. This
minimizes capital cost and the use of electricity as there
is no need for a stirrer to operate the plant [96]. The biogas
digester with a volume of 50 m3 is lled with slurry, and it
is left to ferment for at least 3 weeks to produce optimal
high quality biogas. The temperature of the biogas digester
must be maintained between 35 and 40 C so that the
anaerobic digestion process can progress to completion
[97]. Biogas is accumulated at the gas holder or dome
before going through three stages of ltration processes
to remove water vapor and hydrogen sulde that is corro-
sive and other impurities that exist as constituents in biogas
by using water, iron oxide, and activated carbon, respec-
tively. The remaining gas is subsequently stored in the
storage balloon. Because the anaerobic digestion process
runs continuously inside the biogas digester, a pressure re-
lief device is installed to prevent gas explosion caused by
over pressurization of the storage balloon [96]. The major
composition of biogas is methane at 5070% followed by
carbon dioxide at 3050%, while nitrogen, hydrogen,
hydrogen sulde, and water vapor are other compositions
found in small amounts [98]. Although biogas is a low
caloric value fuel and its conventional combustion
Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia
Figure 16. Schematic of an animal waste biogas plant [96].
encounters some serious barriers, application of ameless
combustion technology for biogas energy conversion
could be effective and solve the problems [99101].
4.3. Hydropower
Malaysia is a country that has plenty of water. This fact can
provide an excellent chance for Malaysia because annual
rainfall is very high and allows the power generation to
be implemented through hydro. Large-scale hydropower
is a most commercial RSE in Malaysia with negligible
GHG generation. Also, apart from electricity generation,
the substantial roles of hydro dams in water supply, irriga-
tion, improvement of navigation, and ood control are
unavoidable [102]. The potential of hydroelectricity in
Malaysia is estimated 29,000 MW; however, today, less
than 3% of this capacity is utilized. The most important
barrier to hydropower development is its high capital
investment. A part from dams design, construction and
operation as the priority, some political, environmental,
and socio-economic studies should be performed for
hydropower development. Table X demonstrates the
installed hydropower stations in Malaysia [103].
Although Sarawak has great hydropower potential, the
installed capacity is 108 MW up to now, and it is planned
to increase the capacity to 7723 MW by 2020 under the
Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy projects
[104,105]. Bakun hydropower by 2400 MW capacity is
one of the biggest hydropower plants in Malaysia with
excellent environmentally friendly characteristics. Bakun
dam located in Sarawak Malaysia by around 70000 ha is
one of the hugest dams in Southeast Asia [106,107]. The
capacity of this hydropower plant is going to increase to
6000 MW in immediate future [104]. Apart from large-
scale hydropower plants, minihydropower projects have
S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid
attracted attentions due their low cost and environmentally
sound characteristics [108]. Small-scale hydropower with
maximum 10 MW capacities was categorized in minihy-
dropower systems. China, Japan, United States, and India
are the biggest producers of minihydropower in the world
by 65, 3.5, 3, and 2 GW, respectively [103]. According to
feasibility studies, small-scale hydropower is economical
in Malaysia not only for electricity generation but also
for irrigation, ood control, and tourism purposes. The
potential of minihydropower generation in Malaysia is
estimated about 500 MW; however, less than 7% of this
capacity is applied [104]. Figure 17 shows the installed
minihydropower plant in Malaysia [103].
Because of far distance to main power grid, electricity
supply of some remote villages, especially in Sabah and
Sarawak has encountered crucial problems. Thus, the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment planned
some small-scale hydropower plant in these far spots to
substitute current diesel power generators [109]. The
Malaysian Government has planned to increase the capacity
of electricity generation via minihydropower to 490 MW
until 2020 [110]. Although development of hydropower
plants seems costly, the very high prices of NG and coal in
the future ensure the investment in hydropower.
4.4. Solar energy
One of the most promising clean RSE resources is solar
energy that has great potential to solve the problem of
energy crisis of the world [111113]. Solar power instru-
ment has been introduced around 50 years ago, and the
development of this technology intensied drastically
since photovoltaic (PV) devices emerged [114,115]. Abun-
dant sunshine in Malaysia makes favorable circumstances
for the development of solar energy in this country [116].
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S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia

Table X. Installed hydropower plants in Malaysia [103].

No Station Installed capacity (MW) Total (MW)

1 Terengganu
Stesen Janakuasa Sultan Mahmud Kenyir 4 100 400
2 Perak
Stesen Janakuasa Temenggor 4 87 348
Stesen Janakuasa Bersia 3 24 72
Stesen Janakuasa Kenering 3 40 120
Chenderoh 3 10.7 + 1 8.4 40.5
Sg. Piah Hulu 2 7.3 14.6
Sg. Piah Hilir 2 27 54
3 Pahang
Stesen Janakuasa Sultan Yussuf, Jor 4 25 100
Stesen Janakuasa Sultan Idris II, Who 3 50 150
Cameron Highland Scheme 11.9
4 Kelantan
Pergau 4 50 600
Kenerong Upper 26 12
Kenerong Lower 24 8
5 Sabah
Tenom Pangi 3 22 66
6 Sarawak
Batang Ai 4 23.5 94
Total 2091

Figure 17. Installed minihydropower plant in Malaysia [103].

The average daily solar insulation has been reported
around 5.5 kWm2; equal to 15 MJ/m2 [117]. The
monthly solar radiation average in Malaysia is around
400600 MJ/m2, which increases during the northeast
monsoon time and decreases during the southwest mon-
soon period [118,119]. In Malaysia, solar radiation in
Kota Kinabalu, Bayan Lepas, and George Town is in
the highest level. Penang and Sabah are mentioned as
the best spots for solar power generation in the country.
Figure 18 shows the annual average of solar radiation
in different towns of Malaysia [120].
Solar energy is usually applied for thermal applications
or PV technologies in Malaysia. In the solar thermal, the
heat from solar energy is harnessed for heating applications
and, in PV technology, arrays of cells that consist of solar
PV generate electricity. On the basis of the efciency of
panel, panel title, location of installed instrument, and
cloudiness, the capacity of solar PV changed from 0.1 to
0.2. However, currently, the capacities of PV rarely exceed
0.2 if some essential factors such as solar isolation, solar
cell temperature, and conversion losses are taken into
account [121]. PV technology has developed in Malaysia

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Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia
Figure 18. The average of annual solar radiation in different towns of Malaysia [120].
since 1980s, and today, Malaysia is one of the members of
the International Energy Agency-Photovoltaic Power
Systems. Successful solar power generation programs in
other countries such as Germany and Japan persuaded the
Malaysian Government to set up grid-connected PV sys-
tems in 1998. From 1998 to 2002, some grid-connected
PV pilots with power ranging from around 3 to 4 kWp
were experimented by Tenaga National Research and some
Malaysian universities [122,123]. Application of solar
energy in heating and lighting systems of the building
was started practically to conserve environment and save
energy [124,125]. In 2002, Prototype Solar House projects
was designed and built to indicate the multifunctional char-
acteristics of PV in buildings for houses at urban areas in
Malaysia [126,127]. In 2005, total capacity of on-grid PV
and off-grid PV systems were about 470 and 3 MWp,
respectively. On the basis of the 9th Malaysia Plan, an ac-
ceptable budget was dedicated to solar PV implementation
especially in Sabah and Sarawak [128]. Also, it was
planned to impediment some projects under the name of
the Malaysian Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV)
until 2010. Some projects such as BIPV demonstration to
stimulate the building industry, national SURIA1000 to
install solar instruments to 1000 roofs, and BIPV showcase
for the general public to install BIPV, were performed.
Cumulative PV will be 55 MW in 2015, and it is projected
that solar energy surpass other RSE by 2020 [128]. Today,
total cumulative of BIPV is about 213.61 kWp in
Malaysia. The goal of the Malaysian BIPV is to increase
the applicable knowledge of solar technology and place
Malaysia as one of the pioneers of solar energy [129].
Successful experiments and high efcient solar energy
achievement in some building such as Communication
and Multimedia in Putrajaya and Pusat Tenaga Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur Securities Commission in Bukit Kiara,
S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid
and Ministry of Energy encourage the Government and
private sectors to take solar energy into account for future
buildings [130132]. However, the electricity tariff for
solar energy that is 21 cents/kWh seems high. Also, PV
cells are very expensive; thus, some strategies such as
direct capital subsidies and increasing feed-in tariffs should
be considered for solar power generation development.
Recently, tax incentives have been introduced to decrease
or remove the purchase of PV systems to reduce the total
cost PV system portion [133]. Mono-crystalline silicon
(good performance in hot sun), thin lm silicon (good
performance in cloudy days), copper-indium-diselenide
(excellent in cloudy days), and poly-crystalline silicon
(good in sunny days) are the most available solar panels
in Malaysia [129]. Sun Power, First Solar and Q-Cells
are the main Malaysian factories that produce PV equip-
ment. Today, utilization of solar power in large commer-
cial scale has not developed signicantly, and most of the
solar energy is applied on domestic level such as drying
of agricultural products, hot water system, and water
pumping [134]. Totally, more research and development
activities should be performed on solar energy to overcome
the barriers and intensify the PV market in Malaysia.
4.5. Wind energy
Because wind is a clean source of RSE energy, the applica-
tion of wind energy for electricity generation has fewer
environmental effects than utilization of other energy
resources [135]. Wind turbines or so-called windmills
work without pollutant generation, and their cooling
system does not require water. Wind power generation
promises clean environment due to reduction of fossil fuel
consumption for electricity generation [136]. Worldwide
wind power generation at the end of 2012 was reported
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S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid
282,275 MW, which was around 2% of total electricity
demand of the world. In 2012, the USA and China were
the main wind electricity producers in the world by
75,324 and 62,364 MW wind power generation, respec-
tively. Statistics conrm that approximately 73% of world-
wide wind electricity generates by ve countries namely
USA, China, Germany, Spain, and India [137]. Asia has
augmented its share in the global wind power generation,
and in 2012, by 35% of total generated wind power was
very close to Europe. It has been prognosticated in the year
2013 that Asia will take over Europe in total wind power
generation capacity. The potential of wind power genera-
tion in every country depends on the availability of the
wind resources. In order to implement a wind energy pro-
ject, study on detail of wind on-site, the site-specic nature
of wind, and evaluation of wind energy performance
should be performed as the most important requires
[138]. In Malaysia, these priorities have been performed,
and the potential of wind energy has been assessed nation-
wide. The experimental results conrm that stations in
Mersing and Kuala Terengganu have the greatest wind
energy potentials in Malaysia [139]. Indeed, the electricity
demand of undeveloped East coast and some spots that are
not connected to the national electricity grid can be
supplied by small wind power generators [140]. The speed
of offshore wind in Malaysia has been reported 1.24.1 m/s
annually. The recorded data conrm that the east Peninsu-
lar Malaysia with annual wind speed of 4.1 m/s has the
highest potential of wind power generation in Malaysia
[141]. In Terumbu Layang Layang island, wind turbine
with 150 kW wind power capacity was established in
2005 successfully [136]. This island has the largest poten-
tial of wind power generation in comparison with the other
places in Malaysia [142]. Recently, two wind turbine units
with overall wind power capacity of 200 kW have been
installed by TNB in Pulau Perhentian. Also, the Ministry
of Rural and Regional Development installed eight
miniwind turbines with capacity between 5 and 10 kW in
Sabah and Sarawak. Because the scenery of the wind
power plants is so spectacular, not only electricity genera-
tion but also tourist attraction is taken into account for
wind turbines installation by the Government. Although
wind energy is considered as a green power technology
with negligible effects on the environment, the challenges
have emerged due to low average wind velocity in the
whole country. At least 7 m/s of the wind speed is required
to turn the blades of a wind turbine. From the investiga-
tions, the wind speed in Malaysia is light and always
changes that depends on the season in the range of
213 m/s. Although, the average of wind speed in Malay-
sia is 35 m/s, which is lower than requirement criterion,
electricity was successfully generated by low wind speed
turbines in this country [143]. Furthermore, there are some
places that have wind speeds exceeding 7 m/s such as wind
along the MalaysianThai border that is believed to stream
about 15 m/s. Other than that, Kota Kinabalu, Mersing, and
Kuala Terengganu also have been identied as the poten-
tial areas to develop the utilization of wind energy sources.
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Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia
The potential of wind energy in Malaysia is estimated to
generate between 500 and 2000 MW of demanded power
[144]. In the case of wind power generation, it is suggested
to dedicate more funding to research and development of
this capacity to solve its fundamental dilemmas [53].
5. CONCLUSION
The energy mix of Malaysia is still heavily depending on
non-renewable fossil fuels such as oil and NG. Therefore,
the uctuation in fossil fuel prices is the main political
dilemmas emerged in the energy security of the country,
and the necessity of alternative energy utilization for power
generation is observed. Moreover, negative environmental
impacts of increasing rate of fossil fuel consumption that
has conducted the country to more GHGs generation have
convinced the Government to invest in RSE. Because of
unique geographic location and humid climate, Malaysia
is blessed with so much water, sunshine, and agricultural
products. BioGen is one of the most benecial methods
for electricity supply in Malaysia because of numerous
forest and agricultural residue. Hence, palm solid residue,
wood waste, and paddy residue are considered as the main
source of biomass in Malaysia, and investment on power
generation based on these renewables should be devel-
oped. Indeed, biogas as an effective source of RSE can
be developed for power generation in Malaysia due to its
abundance resources. Increasing utilization of RE re-
sources such as oil palm wastes, municipal waste, animal
waste, banana, and other agriculture waste can dynami-
cally being an effective alternative way to lead the
countrys sustainability of energy supply. In addition, the
implementation of biogas plant can be a great step forward
in reducing reliance on non-renewable resources. Also,
recycling of waste materials from animal breeding, oil
palm, food, and other plant sources can provide a clean en-
vironment in the country. Malaysia has great potential to
generate electricity by solar power because of its equatorial
location. A part from that, some advantages of solar power
generation such as low GHG emission, cheap maintenance
cost, and low operation voice make solar power generation
the best choice for future electricity generation in Malaysia.
Wind energy and hydropower are the cleanest renewables.
Although, the average of wind speed in Malaysia is lower
than requirements for wind power generation, application
of low wind speed turbines should be developed. Indeed,
the very high prices of fossil fuel in the immediate future
can ensure the investment in hydropower.
NOMENCLATURE
BioGen = biomass power generation
CO2 = carbon dioxide
CHP = combined heat and power
CPO = crude palm oil
EFB = empty fruit bunches
Renewable sustainable energy in the energy mix of Malaysia S. E. Hosseini and M. Abdul Wahid

EPSM = Environment Protection Society malaysia-2010&Itemid=154&lang=en. Accessed on

Malaysia 15 October 2013.
EPU = Economic Planning Unit 3. APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook 5th Edition.
GDP = gross domestic product 4. Central Bank of Malaysia Bank Negara Malaysia
GHGs = greenhouse gasses annual report, 2010, http://www.bnm.gov.my
GTFS = Green Technology Fund Scheme
5. MOF (Ministry of Finance). Economic Report 2010/
GBI = Green Building Index
2011, 2011, www.treasury.gov.my/index.php?option
HRT = hydraulic residence time
IPP = independent power producer =com_content&view=category&id=73&Itemid=174
IEA-PVPS = International Energy Agency- &lang=en. Accessed on 12 November 2013.
Photovoltaic Power Systems 6. OGJ. Oil and Gas Journal. http://www.eni.com/
LFG = landll gas world-oil-gas-review-2013/oil/OilCountries-Asia-
LNG = liquid natural gas Pacic+5-9.shtml. Accessed 20 November 2013
LPG = liqueed petroleum gas 7. EPU (Economic Planning Unit). Tenth Malaysian Plan,
MARDI = Malaysia Agriculture Research 2011, http://publications.apec.org/publication-detail.
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MGLP = Malaysia Green Labeling Program 8. http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?ps=MY.
MNEP = Malaysias National Energy Policy
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MPOB = Malaysian Palm Oil Board
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CH4 = methane
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POME = palm oil mill efuent 11. Anon. U.S. Energy Information Administration.
PSH = prototype solar house International energy statistics, http://www.indexmundi.
PV = photovoltaic
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