KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): The offtakers for Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar)’s 10 gigawatts (GW) project will depend on the existing renewable energy programes outlined by the government, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof on Wednesday.

Notably, there are four existing RE programmes, namely the Large Scale Solar (LSS) programme for utility-scale solar, the Feed-in Tariff programme for non-solar sources, the New Enhanced Dispatch Arrangement programme for other non-solar resources, and the Net Energy Metering programme, which covers rooftop solar installations.

“For instance, if they participate in the LSS programme, the utility, or TNB (Tenaga Nasional Bhd), serves as the offtaker. In the rooftop solar installations programme, the (individual) electricity user becomes the offtaker. If they join the TPA (third-party access) programme later, the offtaker would be a corporate user with a contractual agreement with the developer,” Fadillah said in response to Yeo Bee Yin (PH-Puchong) during the oral question and answer session in Dewan Rakyat.

While the government welcomes investment and joint ventures to develop renewable energy, Fadillah said that all such projects must adhere to the transparent and fair approval processes outlined in existing regulations.

Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Public Utilities, said the government’s plans for third-party access are being drafted to allow developers to supply electricity directly to consumers through utility grids.

Therefore, Fadillah said the offtakers for Masdar’s projects will depend on the specific programmes the company engages in, ensuring fair competition and economic viability, while maintaining grid stability and security.

Masdar, the United Arab Emirate’s clean energy powerhouse, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) in October last year, to invest US$8 billion (RM37.28 billion) for RE projects of 10GW.

Last December, Masdar picked Citaglobal Bhd and Cypark Resources Bhd to help undertake the projects. Citaglobal, together with its major shareholder TIZA Global Sdn Bhd, signed a 40:60 joint development agreement (JDA) with Masdar to build a US$2 billion (RM9.75 billion), two-gigawatt (2GW) solar farm in Pahang, while Cypark will work with Masdar to undertake an estimated 1GW of RE projects in Malaysia.

Masdar had also partnered Malakoff Corp Bhd to identify potential business opportunities through the investment and development of solar photovoltaic power plant projects with a targeted aggregate capacity of up to 1,000MW, and explore other renewable energy project opportunities in Peninsular Malaysia.

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