KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has formed a new sustainability division to drive the implementation of its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy, thus reinforcing its sustainability commitment and responsible energy transition (ET) journey.
President and chief executive officer Datuk Baharin Din said the new division, which commences today, would push the electric utility company’s sustainability drive further by anchoring on three strategic pillars, namely energy sources, energy vector, and energy usage.
“Regionally, TNB has stepped up our responsible ET agenda through collaboration with major power players in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos to capitalise on serving regional demand with greener power.
“Beyond new revenue streams from renewables, these collaborations allow for a wider integration and reallocation of renewable energy (RE) resources that will help decarbonise the Asean power system as well as ensure greater energy security for the region,” he said in the statement today.
Baharin said these strategic partnerships would boost its ongoing drive to strengthen the Asean Power Grid interconnectivity and advance Malaysia’s aspiration of becoming the RE hub for Asean.
On the energy sources pillar, TNB Power Generation Sdn Bhd (TNB Genco) had committed to several expansion plans from 2023 onwards, he said.
He said these would include the ongoing construction of the Nenggiri hydroelectric project scheduled for commercial operation in 2027, the finalisation of a new power purchase agreement for the Sungai Perak life extension programme, the model planning for the Paka repowering project, and the finalisation of a partnership collaboration for the new 2,100 megawatts (MW) combined cycle gas turbine in Kapar.
In addition, he said that TNB Genco and its subsidiary, TNB Remaco Sdn Bhd, had submitted an expression of interest in liquefied natural gas to power projects in Vietnam and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with North Power Service Joint Stock Company for future collaboration on potential energy-related services in Vietnam.
“Our wholly-owned subsidiaries in the United Kingdom (UK), Vantage RE Ltd has acquired a 97.3 MW onshore wind portfolio and a 102 MW ready-to-build solar portfolio in the UK with an added option to develop a 65 MW battery energy storage system, with commercial operation expected in the second quarter of 2024 (2Q 2024).
“The company aims to expand its portfolio with greenfield assets in various technologies and locations across Europe.
“Meanwhile, our TNB Bukit Selambau Solar Dua Sdn Bhd secured up to RM185 million in financing for its third large-scale solar (LSS) project under the government’s LSS4 programme,” said Baharin.
On the energy vector pillar, he said TNB is currently discussing with the relevant authorities in both Malaysia and Singapore to form a joint committee to study the feasibility of a second link from Peninsular Malaysia to Singapore.
Similarly, for the Sumatera to Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah to Kalimantan interconnections, the company is engaging Perusahaan Listrik Negara of Indonesia to formalise a memorandum of understanding to revive the feasibility study for the identified interconnections, he said.
On the interconnection with Thailand, Baharin said TNB and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand are already in the midst of collaborating through a joint working committee in conducting a feasibility study to increase the capacity of the Malaysia-Thailand interconnection.
On energy usage, he said that TNB GSPARX Sdn Bhd (GSPARX) would provide an extra push on RE penetration while growing TNB’s revenue source.
“GSPARX aims to secure an additional solar generation capacity of approximately 145-megawatt peak (MWp) for 2023.
“With 1,926 rooftop solar projects secured with a total of 272 MWp capacity, GSPARX is expected to generate RM70 million in revenue this year,” he said.
Currently, TNB has activated six TNB electron electric vehicle charge points at selected rest and service areas along the North-South Expressway and East Coast Expressway Phase 2, with three more in the pipeline by end-2023, he said.
According to Baharin, TNB has received increasing requests for high-voltage supply, mainly from manufacturing companies and hyperscale data centres (DC), with a potential maximum demand of 4,300 MW.
“These include DC investments from major international companies with a maximum demand of 760 MW mainly in Selangor and Johor, (and) to cater for the DC demands, TNB has set up a one-stop centre for a business-friendly and seamless process.
“We see this as both demand growth and potential business opportunities that will have a multiplier effect on the economy, encouraging foreign direct investments of US$43 billion (US$1=RM4.62) by 2035 and RE investments in Malaysia,” he said.
Source – The Star