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Energy insecurity has become an alarming issue among ASEAN countries. One proposal to overcome this energy insecurity is to integrate energy markets among ASEAN countries. In order to do this integration, a major energy policy reform, particularly the elimination of energy subsidy policies, is needed. The main goal of this paper, hence, is to analyze the impact of an energy subsidy reduction policy in ASEAN, particularly in terms of economic growth, environmental improvement and welfare distribution. To achieve this goal, this paper uses a multi-country computable general equilibrium (CGE) for Inter-Regional System Analysis for ASEAN (IRSA-ASEAN) to conduct the analysis. This paper finds that countries in which energy subsidies significantly exist, i.e., Indonesia and Malaysia, stand to gain much from eliminating these subsidies. Gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to increase, with the added benefit of reduced CO2 emissions. In terms of welfare distribution, this policy appears to be progressive in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reduced electricity demand through the implementation of an energy efficiency policy is a central pillar of the Malaysian government's energy strategy. Energy efficiency first emerged as part of Malaysia's energy policy agenda in 1979 but only came into force during the 2000s. Initially, it was seen from global fears about the shortage of fossil fuels, then as a way of combating climate change. This paper offers a comprehensive review of Malaysia's energy policies with a focus on adopting policies to improve energy efficiency. Starting with Malaysia's preliminary policy in response to the OPEC-driven global oil crisis in 1973, the paper discusses how policymakers are considering energy efficiency from Malaysia's sustainable development perspective and what relevant government efforts have been made to improve it. The review evaluates the progress that has been made over the past 25 years to address energy efficiency in the economy and highlights the achievements and remaining difficulties. Findings show that the level of energy efficiency while having shown improvement during 1990–2015 was lower than expected. In terms of electricity intensity of GDP, Malaysia has a relatively large position among the ASEAN countries and the world's largest electricity consumers. Researchers, scientists, and practitioners will benefit from the extensive review material of this study, which will help them better understand energy efficiency and the sustainability strategy implemented in Malaysia to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy, often referred to as clean energy is derived from natural resources and does not deplete when used. Malaysia targets to achieve 31 % renewable energy generation by 2025. The availability and reliability of renewable energy resources are highly vulnerable to climate conditions. Floods, which account for almost 40 % of natural disaster can adversely affect energy resources generation, transmission and infrastructure. Malaysia as a tropical country is especially prone to floods due to the high average rainfall it receives annually. Malaysia energy policy planning has placed more emphasis on efficiency of generation and emissions reductions. The need to adapt to flood disasters and other climatic change challenges has not been adequately addressed. Due to the flood risk in Malaysia, adaptation to climate change and disasters such as flood needs to be considered in Malaysia's energy policy planning. This paper reviews scholarly papers and news articles related to the flood phenomenon in Malaysia, and analyses the impact of flood disasters on renewable energy generation and energy policy planning in this country. The findings indicate that flood has an insignificant effect on Malaysia's renewable energy power generators as they are not located in flood-prone areas. The east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which is exposed to flooding during the monsoon season, is the most vulnerable to flood disasters. Most renewable energy generation facilities including biomass power stations, hydropower, and solar panels are located on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, and in Sabah and Sarawak. The potentially high risk of flash floods and unpredictable climate conditions in Malaysia should not be underestimated and must be duly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a developing country, Malaysia's prosperity and welfare depends heavily on having access to reliable and secure supplies of energy. As a result, the country's future energy requirements have become a policy priority in recent years. Energy is essential for human life, and a secure and accessible supply of energy becomes important for the modern societies. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas are currently the world's primary energy sources and continue to provide energy source to the world. These energy sources have depleted in reserves in recent years and they can also cause irreparably damage to the environment such as global warming and climate change. These environmental concerns can be addressed, to some extent, through more sustainable solutions such as the use of renewable energy resources. In Malaysia, the economic and environmental impacts of fossil fuels use have become hard to ignore. The government has introduced and implemented policy measures to address concerns surrounding the use of fossil fuels and to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy use. In this paper, we review the historical evolution of Malaysian energy policies and initiatives designed to secure diverse energy sources and avoid over-reliance on fossil fuels. In recent years, Malaysia has been catching up with global call to shift to renewable energy use and is now putting a focus on renewable energy in its future energy mix. The paper also discusses challenges and concerns over the future of sustainable energy of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia demonstrates its commitment to alleviating the negative climate and energy issues through various initiatives. One of the latest initiatives is the amendment of the net-energy metering (NEM) scheme that takes effect from 2019. This paper presents the distribution of energy to the residential house that has a grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed. The study quantifies the percentage of energy consumed from the PV system and the grid as well as the percentage of PV generated energy that is exported to the grid. On average, 38% of generated energy was used for selfconsumption that contributed to 28% of the total consumption. Economic evaluation over a 25-year lifecycle of the PV system is also conducted shows that the simple payback period for NEM 2019 and NEM 2016 is 8 years and 20 years, respectively. The latest version of NEM shows a superior advantage compared to the previous one which may attract more investments in PV generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government of Malaysia has recently decided to explore the feasibility of wind energy to generate electricity in the country. Their ambition is to achieve a measureable target in the percentage contribution of electricity generated by renewable energy technology in the national electricity generation mix. As part of this initiative, a study of wind energy policy has been conducted by identifying the optimal feed-in tariff (FiT) rates to support the development of wind energy in the country. The aim of this paper is to calculate the optimal level of tariff that is suitable with local wind conditions. A closed-form equation for optimal feed-in tariff rate of wind energy with consideration of the availability of capital allowance has been developed. The focus is on small- and utility-scale wind turbine installations. As a result, by considering the availability of capital allowance, the optimal FiT rates for small-scale wind turbines in Malaysia are between 0.9245-1.1313 RM/kWh, while utility-scale rates are between 0.7396 and 0.9050 RM/kWh. The level of FiT is changed with the changing value of economic parameters. Kudat, in northern Borneo, has been identified as a prime site for wind energy development in the country; however, more work needs to be conducted, including the development of a regional wind map and measurement of wind data at more new potential sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promote the growth of renewable energy sector in Malaysia, feed-in tariff (FiT) mechanism has been introduced by Malaysian government in 2011, in accordance with Renewable Energy Act 2011 and Sustainable Energy Development Authority Act 2011. The tariff was enacted to overcome the shortcomings identified in the small renewable energy power (SREP) Program from 2001 to 2010. This paper highlighted some measures adopted to rectify the shortcomings identified during SREP, and the role of Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) in achieving the above mentioned task. The paper also includes the latest progress on renewable energy projects, especially those related to solar photovoltaic system. It is predicted that solar energy will become the main source of renewable energy in Malaysia by the year 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia, as a developing country and a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is looking into inexhaustible and repeatable alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, mini-hydro and biomass. The estimated GDP at 2010 is $15,385 per capita and the economic and industrial growth of the country implies that energy demand is growing very fast. In addition, the growing prices of fossil fuels, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, make inevitable renewable energy solutions for the country. Geographically, Malaysia is located in a region of tropical and humid climate which provides easy access to a variety of renewable energy sources. The government of Malaysia has initiated renewable energy policies to encourage industries and individuals to employ renewable-energy-powered systems in power applications. This paper first gives a brief overview of the current status of renewable energy in Malaysia. Then it provides the energy policies, specifically the renewable energy policies in Malaysia, in Section 2 . The renewable energy programs are reviewed in Section 3. The building energy efficiency program with green aspect is provided in Section 4. Lastly, the conclusion and forecasts of this paper are given in Section 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia's framework for energy development was established in the early 1970s. Henceforth, many successive policies were introduced as potential resources for electricity generation and utilization. Currently, as a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Malaysia is sparing a number of effort to comply with the policy to meet the challenges of mitigating over-dependence on fossil fuels, reducing carbon levels, and achieving sustainable national development. This paper reviews the baseline studies on electrical energy policies and the measurement indicators used in Malaysia's electric power system. This research involves a comprehensive survey of electrical energy policies in Malaysia that focus on issues pertaining to energy supply, utilization, its environmental impact and considerations, renewable energy (RE) policies, production and consumption, energy efficiency, and feed-in tariffs. Fourteen energy indicators for sustainable development in Malaysia were investigated through the identification of energy policies in significant areas, such as reliability, safety, adequacy and cost-effectiveness of energy supply; increasing energy efficiency; minimizing environmental impact; and enhancing quality of life in terms of social well-being. The policies and the indicators are classified into different sustainable dimensions and summarized in tables along with the corresponding key references. In this study, future energy planning and options, especially in nuclear and RE programs, as well as the conflict between them, are illustrated through the overall performance relative to targets and benchmarks for past and future projections up to the year 2030. This review seeks to examine the past, present, and future policies and indicators to provide a sufficient overview of Malaysian energy policies for optimizing sustainable development. The goal is for this review to lead to increased efforts to accommodate the increasing demand for the management and utilization of RE, promote energy efficiency, and improve performance in achieving sustainable national development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the leading global producers of palm oil, Malaysia has the potential to play a pivotal role in global palm oil diesel production. However, such potential will be difficult to exploit based on the industry’s current scenario. The new framework, known as “Strategic Dimensions and Implementation of the National Biofuel Policy in Malaysia”, is vague and the current level of implementation is limited. Thus, a comprehensive and well-structured policy framework for Malaysia’s palm oil biofuel industry is not only important in ensuring that its products, such as biodiesel, meet global standards but also to provide greater benefit to the industry as a whole. This paper presented a brief overview of German rapeseed biodiesel and US corn ethanol policies, aimed at providing a new perspective that can be adopted to reshuffle the existing policies governing the Malaysian palm oil biofuel industry. Throughout this paper, different strategies and policies designed to protect the biofuel industry in the US and Germany are discussed in this study. Such policies would be a good benchmark for the Malaysian government to emulate in an effort to improve its existing policies, strategies and blueprints relating to the palm oil biofuel industry development. This review also contributes to the oil palm industry, particularly in developing countries, by highlighting the importance of comprehensive policies and strategies in accelerating its development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia near the equator within the typical tropical climatic zone. The efficient use of energy is vital due to the dependency on fossil resources that are being exhausted, which ultimately cause CO 2 emissions. Economic development and population growth are deemed to affect the growing energy demand in the country. Therefore, sustainability, energy security, and climate change are crucial challenges for the power sector in Malaysia. The aforementioned issues can be tackled with energy efficient measures in the building sector. Buildings in Malaysia consume 14.3% of the overall energy and 53% of only electrical energy is being consumed in residential and commercial sectors. Therefore, energy efficiency in buildings is crucial in order to reduce the energy use and improve the local environmental sustainability. This paper discusses a review on the building energy scenario, the policy perspectives, building energy efficiency programs along with landmark buildings and their characteristics. Besides, the potential of renewable energy resources in buildings and various prospective issues and challenges faced by the country have also been discussed. The significant review content thus benefits researchers, scientists and practitioners for a better understanding on energy efficiency and the sustainable measures that have been so far taken. The review also puts forward some actions to promote building energy efficiency and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal's rising prominence in the power industry has raised concerns about future CO2 emissions and energy reliability. As of 2017, it is estimated that Malaysia's existing natural gas production can only be maintained for another 40 years. Consequently, the carbon intensity of electricity production has increased due to the increasing share of coal-fired plants and electricity infrastructure inefficiencies. To summarise, energy industries have been the highest emitters of CO2 emissions, with a 54-percent share. In response to these challenges, the government implemented a series of renewable energy (RE) policy measures. Whether these policies are sufficient in driving Malaysian energy decarbonisation is yet to be seen. In this study, we simulated different scenarios from 2015 to 2050 with an agent-based model to explore the roles of renewable energy policies towards emission reduction in the energy sector. The simulation results reveal that when all renewables initiatives were implemented, the share of RE increased to 16 percent, and emissions intensity fell by 26 percent relative to its level in 2005, albeit with increasing absolute carbon emissions. This milestone is still far below the government's 45 percent reduction target. The simulation results demonstrate that renewable energy policies are less effective in driving Malaysian electricity towards desired low-carbon pathways. Furthermore, it is evidenced that no single approach can achieve the emission reduction target. Therefore, a combination of energy efficiency and renewable energy policy measures is unavoidable to decarbonise the electricity sector in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Malaysian government has attempted to develop renewable energy (RE) through newly introduced regulatory supports after 30 years of failure to achieve a greater than one percent non-hydroelectric RE share in the total power mix. The government is currently assessing the onshore wind energy potential in Malaysia to determine the possibility of including wind energy in its FiT scheme. However, wind energy development in this low-energy location is not as straightforward as it would seem. Many previous wind studies in Malaysia have relied on poor data and simplistic or inadequate methodologies, resulting in grossly inaccurate estimates of wind potential. Moreover, two wind turbine generator demonstration projects executed by the government have failed. However, above all, the greatest factor impairing the progress of RE development in Malaysia is the weak and uncertain political support of these efforts. This lack of robust support is particularly true where fossil fuels are still heavily subsidised amid the subsidy reform in 2013. A review of global wind energy development shows that successful projects depend heavily on a sound and robust regulatory framework supported by strong and consistent political will. This dependence is not observed in Malaysia, where the government continues to subsidise private independent fossil fuel power producers but levies taxes on electricity consumers to fund RE development. These levies do not effectively support RE development, given the magnitude of the RE fund compared to fossil fuel subsidies. In the absence of strong and sincere political will, the progress of RE development in Malaysia has been notably slow. As a result, the prospect of wind energy development in Malaysia currently remains vague. This paper discusses the above issues in detail and recommends selected regulatory mechanisms based on the global experience of supporting RE development in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy (RE) policies have proven to be an effective tool for implementing RE. Despite various policies introduced, the RE deployment in Malaysia has been weak, especially individual RE uptake. Lack of policy support has been linked with inadequate policy awareness and information based on the knowledge deficit theory. This study investigates the support for the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) and Net Energy Metering (NEM) policy of individual solar photovoltaic (PV) technology among landed residents in Malaysia and the effect of information provision on policy support. A Solomon-four-group design was employed to measure policy support and test the relationship between information provision and policy support using a set of Likert scale questionnaires and a poster of FiT and NEM policy prepared in layman's terms as an intervention. Results show that majority of the residents agree with the environmental mission of the policy, except for the reduction of fossil fuel usage. For the economic aspect, the residents prefer a fixed rate for RE produced and generally agreed that high electricity consumers should pay for the RE fund. However, residents were less enthusiastic about the percentage deducted from electricity bills and the 'high electricity consumer' baseline. There was a significant difference between items scores at pre and post-test when given the intervention, in line with the deficit theory. Therefore, policy information should be communicated strategically, focusing on thepolicy's social and economic components that have the greatest influence on Malaysians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar photovoltaic has shown a significant rise in terms of worldwide installation. One of the main reason is due to the introduction of the FiT (feed-in tariff) policy by the governments. This paper aims to evaluate FiT policy in promoting solar PV (photovoltaic) investments in Malaysia by using a dynamic systems approach. The assessment model captures the complexities arising from the interaction of FiT rate dynamics, construction delays, and investors’ and technology learning dynamics in an integrated framework. The model provides total operational PV capacity, amount of finances needed to support the policy, and the cost of environmental savings, as output. Computer simulations, based on twelve scenarios, were used as a means to study the model behaviour. For the most favourable scenario, a total capacity of about 16 GW PV by 2050 can be expected, while for the least favourable scenario, expectations would be only about 10 GW. On the expenditure side, the most favourable scenario can cost up to MYR (Malaysia Ringgit) 15 billion, whereas, for the least favourable ones, the cost can be as low as MYR2 billion. The maximum cost of CO 2 abatement can vary from MYR 0.05 per kg-CO 2 to the lowest value of MYR 0.02 per kg-CO 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable energy supply is essential for actualizing Malaysia׳s vision to become a high-income country. The current power production and demand trends show that Malaysia has a reserve margin that will only last for the next few years. This calls for further investment, research and development in the country׳s power sector in order to meet the ever increasing energy demand. The government׳s diversification policy and power sector expansion plan emphasizes on the incorporation of renewable energy sources (RESs) and other less CO 2 emitting sources like nuclear into the national energy mix. However, the environmental ramifications of this policy should be part of any future expansion plan of national grid. This paper presents a panoramic overview of the Malaysian energy sector, the energy policy revolution and the power sector expansion strategy towards secure sustainability. We want to bring into focus the benefits and challenges of Malaysia׳s power sector expansion plan with the aim of stimulating further discussion and research on the environmental ramifications of the plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia, as one of the top energy subsidizing countries, has announced to remove energy subsidies necessarily, not only to reduce energy consumption and the government budget deficit but also to improve overall efficiency and air quality. Therefore, this study evaluates the impacts of rationalizing energy subsidy and its energy efficiency improvement during 2010–2030 using a dynamic recursive computable general equilibrium model. Results revealed that reducing energy subsidies decreases energy consumption and emissions of all air pollutants. While the economic performance of the country improves in the long run due to stimulation in capital demand and investment, it reduces in the short run. Energy efficiency also improves by 1.1% and 2.3%, in the short run, in response to a reduction of 10% and 100% in energy subsidies, respectively. Energy efficiency improvements decrease the negative effects of pure subsidy policies on real GDP, trade, investment, and household consumption. The efficiency improvement policies also are effective in reducing more level of the rebound effect and lead to more energy saving in the economy, particularly in the petroleum products sector. The impacts on the rebound effect also differ across economic sectors. The results of this study provide new insights for energy subsidy policy and energy efficiency and suggest that additional tools and policies are required for improving the energy efficiency caused by phasing out energy subsidies. Malaysia, as one of the top energy subsidized countries, attempts to reduce the level of energy subsidies over time and, consequently, decline the use of fossil fuels in the economy. Therefore, this study analyzes the impacts of different subsidy reform policy on energy efficiency and, consequently, on economic and environmental performance and rebound effect of Malaysia by a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative energy policies targeting the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) could have significant positive impacts on Malaysia's ability to meet both its carbon reduction goal and its energy security needs. The transport sector generally contributes heavily to carbon emissions, and is also difficult to decarbonize because of the costs associated with many greener options. This study explores the possibility of decarbonizing the Malaysian transport sector by promoting the use of hydrogen vehicles, and analyzes the adoption challenges and economic obstacles (especially public acceptance) associated with introducing HFCVs. This study contends that the adoption challenges of this new technology can be overcome through the use of development strategies outlined. This study also addresses the regulatory framework that Malaysia (and other countries) might use to overcome common policy adoption challenges of HFCVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in energy demand has caused considerable attention to be directed toward sustainable energy resources. The importance of electricity generation through solar energy has been intensively highlighted globally, but Malaysia has yet to exert efforts to develop this energy resource. This study explores the social acceptance and level of human interest in solar energy. In addition, this work identifies the difficulties in the consumption of solar energy and the expectations for solar energy development in Malaysia. Survey results show that 80 % of the respondents are highly interested in solar energy. However, the majority of the respondents have reported that some hindrances, such as expensive solar panels and lack of correct information about solar energy utilization, make fuel-generated electricity a preferable choice. Meanwhile, almost 80 % of the respondents believe that government incentives could best enhance solar energy usage nationwide. To implement new solar energy policies successfully in Malaysia, the government should support the establishment of solar power plants, as well as provide complete information and funding for independent research. Furthermore, more than 70 % of respondents perceive the government to be the main organization that should lead the development of this energy sector. Therefore, this research provides some useful references for policy makers to continue promoting the use of solar energy in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ex-post evaluations of energy policies in Malaysia between 1970 and 2010 were conducted. The developments of energy policies in Malaysia were traced from the early 1970s with the introduction of the country's first energy-related policy all the way to 2010 with the country's first endeavour towards a biobased energy system. Analyses revealed that many of the policies were either: (1) directly responding to changes in global/domestic socioeconomic and political events, or (2) provided visions to guide developments of the energy sector in alignment with the country's growth agenda. Critical examinations of the country's actual energy consumptions during these 40 years were also conducted to evaluate the efficacy of these energy-related policies. Three noteworthy successes in Malaysia's energy landscape are: (1) the formation of PETRONAS as the national oil and gas company; (2) reduction of country's over-reliance on oil as a single source of energy by significantly growing the production and use of natural gas in a short span of time; and (3) creation of a thriving oil and gas value chain and ecosystem in the country. However, the country is still critically dependent on scarce petroleum resources, despite having an abundance of renewable reserves. Progress towards renewable energy has been too little and too slow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global commitment to climate change mitigation enforces the worldwide development of renewable energy sources. Therefore, various studies have investigated the growth of renewable energy in Malaysia, most commonly based on biogas and hydropower. In this article, the dynamics of Malaysia's renewable energy development is critically examined by using the latest official national reports and other reliable resources. Results: The study reveals the influencing factors that shape renewable energy growth in a developing country endowed with substantial biomass resources, such as Malaysia. Likewise, it evaluates the evolution of renewable energy in the electricity sector. In 2017, renewable energy represented about 3.5% of the Malaysian electricity generation mix with 1122 MW of installed capacity. A closer look into the renewable energy resources, i.e. biomass, biogas, solar and small hydro power, revealed that over 47% of the grid-connected power generation came from solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. While solar PV capacity continues to accelerate, the development of other renewable resources, especially biomass, is seeing growth at a significantly slower pace. This article investigates the underlying causes of the skewed development rate as well as the potential strategies that may be adopted to promote a diversification of renewable energy resources. In light of this, introduction of a new national bioenergy policy is proposed, through which four essential programmes could be implemented: (i) enhanced bioenergy conversion efficiency and waste management, (ii) biomass co-firing in coal power plants, (iii) conversion of biogas to biomethane and bio-compressed natural gas (bio-CNG), (iv) large-scale biomass power plants. A total of 4487 MW of additional power could be connected to the grid upon successful implementation of a large-scale biomass power plant programme. Conclusions: The establishment of a comprehensive and inclusive national bioenergy policy will lead towards a sustainable future of renewable energy development in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]