Malaysia launches 1 GW solar tender

• Sunday will declare the largest PV procurement exercise ever before kept in Malaysia. Fifty percent the offered ability will be guided to 10-30 MW centers with the balance booked for plants with capabilities of approximately 50 MW.

Malaysia's Ministry of Power and also Natural Resources has actually announced the 4th round of the country's Large Range Solar (LSS) procurement system will open on Sunday.

The ministry tweeted, the optimum size of projects eligible has been cut in half, from 100 MW to 50 MW, to allow even more programmers to take part. Each programmer will certainly be restricted to an optimum of three quotes.

Half of the available ability will be for 10-30 MW projects with the balance for larger facilities and effective candidates will have until completion of 2023 to obtain their plants connected to the grid.

The Malaysian government has actually currently held three purchase rounds under the nationwide tender program.

Previous rounds

A preliminary, in 2016, designated 200 MW of capacity across the peninsula plus 50 MW in Sabah, northern Borneo, of the hoped-for total of 370 MW.

The second LSS tender, the following year, was nearer to its designated 520 MW target as it designated 360 MW of peninsular solar and also 100 MW throughout Sabah and the islands of Labuan. The exercise still failed, nonetheless, regardless of drawing in bids for 1.6 GW of ability, at costs varying from MYR0.33-0.53/ kWh.

The last tender round brought in 112 quotes, for more than 6.73 GW of generation ability and also with a lowest solar power price of MYR0.17777/ kWh ($0.041). Nevertheless, power regulatory authority Suruhanjaya Tenaga has shortlisted only five prospective buyers, for an overall generation capability of 490 MW, to hint the workout will certainly again be under-subscribed.

At the end of 2019, Malaysia had 882 MW of solar capability, according to International Renewable resource Agency numbers.