E-BIDDING EXERCISE SAW SAVINGS IN RE FUND - SEDA

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 15  -- Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia (SEDA) made significant savings for renewable energy (RE) fund when it introduced e-bidding exercise last year. 

It’s chairman Wong Kah Woh said the first biogas e-bidding exercise last year saw an average saving in the RE fund of RM12.949 million a year, while the second exercise saw a saving of RM12.536 million.

"The beautiful part of e-bidding whereby the overall price had been brought down, bringing savings for the RE fund, which eventually used it for others RE and to release more quotas," he told a media briefing on RE opportunities and achievement in Malaysia, here today.

The effective tariff for the first biogas e-bidding average was 40.55 sen while the second biogas e-bidding was 40.58 sen.

"If compared this average tariff with the tariff prior to e-bidding which was 46.69 sen, we recorded a low and cheaper average tariff in the first and second biogas e-bidding," he added.

For the first biogas e-bidding, the basic bid tariff from 22.10 sen to 28.14 sen per kilowatt hour (kWh), while the second biogas e-bidding, the basic bid tariff for successful bidders from 23.5 sen to 26.89 sen per kWh, he said.

Following this, SEDA according to Wong also conducted the first e-bidding exercise for small hydro from Sept 2 to Sept 23 following the saving it made in the earlier biogas bidding.

"Total number of bidders as of bid closing was 19 bidders. The list of successful bidders is targeted to be announced in mid to late December this year," he said adding that the total capacity applied for small hydro was 243.69 megawatts, which is 1.5 times over-subscribed since SEDA only releasing 160 megawatts of quota.

Commenting on the 2020 Budget, Wong said the government through the budget has given a huge boost for the renewable energy industry in Malaysia.

"Especially with the Green Investment Tax Allowance (GITA) and Green Income Tax Exemption (GITE) which have been extended to 2023. This is what the industry is asking for and this was important especially for SEDA's efforts for the promotion especially solar energy and solar panels on the rooftop," he said.

In addition, Wong said tax incentives for companies implementing solar leasing activities with the income tax exemption of 70 per cent for up to 10 years would encourage industry stakeholders and players to offer competitive services.

It would also help Malaysia move towards 20 per cent RE national installed capacity mix by 2025.

Total RE as of the end of last year was six per cent of the national installed capacity mix excluding hydro above 100 megawatts.

-- BERNAMA