New alliance to expand floating PV in Southeast Asia

Pestech International Bhd, a power system engineering and technical solutions provider, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese inverter manufacturer Sungrow to jointly develop floating PV solutions, according to a filing with the Malaysian stock exchange.

“The parties intend to explore the possibility of complementing each other’s core competencies, technical capabilities and references to cooperate jointly on exploring floating solar system solution, localization of parts and other possible co-operations in Southeast Asia,” the filing reads.

They also plan to use their respective networks to develop floating PV plants, Pestech added. “If the parties agree to jointly bid for a project, the parties shall further discuss to agree on the type of co-operation,” it said.

The announcement marks one of the first attempts to develop floating solar in Malaysia. Regionally, the largest floating solar plant currently under development in Southeast Asia is a 50 MW project tendered by Singapore’s commissioning authority PUB in July, but Thailand and Cambodia have also embraced floating PV technology in recent months.

Malaysia is currently supporting large-scale solar through a series of auctions and rooftop PV through net metering. At the end of last year, the country had around 438 MW of installed solar power, according to the latest statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency.