The Malaysian Ministry of Energy and Water Transition has officially opened the bidding documents for the sixth round of large-scale solar energy project LSS6. This new energy policy, which took months to prepare, has finally been implemented, marking the official entry of Malaysia's public utility level new energy projects into the era of photovoltaic energy distribution and storage. From the simple construction of photovoltaic power stations in the past to the mandatory installation of battery energy storage systems, Malaysia's energy transformation has significantly accelerated, and is expected to attract up to RM15 billion in private investment.

First push for mandatory photovoltaic storage

LSS6 plans to add 2650 MW of solar energy installed capacity and build a 1250 MW battery energy storage system. Compared with the previous five rounds of large-scale solar energy bidding, the biggest change in this round is the requirement for large-scale solar projects to be equipped with energy storage systems for the first time, in order to solve the intermittent problem of solar power generation, improve grid scheduling capabilities, power supply flexibility, and overall reliability. Among them, there is a public tender for 2200 MW of solar energy with 1100 MW of energy storage, a special tender for 300 MW of solar energy with 150 MW of energy storage for indigenous enterprises, and a 150 MW solar energy project that is not mandatory for storage and is specifically open to small indigenous enterprises.

Dual wheel drive of investment and employment

The Malaysian Ministry of Energy and Water Transition expects that LSS6 will attract approximately RM13 billion to RM15 billion in private investment, creating around 15000 to 20000 job opportunities during the project development and construction phases. The special program aimed solely at indigenous enterprises is expected to bring about an investment opportunity of approximately RM500 million, further expanding the space for small and medium-sized local enterprises to participate in the development of the new energy industry. After the project is fully operational, it is expected to reduce approximately 2.6 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. All winning projects are expected to achieve commercial operation before December 31, 2029. Keywords: New Energy News Network, Photovoltaic, Energy Storage

Fully unleashing opportunities in the industrial chain

Research institutions believe that the overall scale of LSS6, which exceeds the market's general expectation of 2 gigawatts, will create an engineering procurement and construction market opportunity of approximately 8 billion to 9 billion ringgit. For the first time, energy storage systems have become mandatory configurations, which will drive rapid growth in demand for batteries, energy storage integration, energy management systems, power conversion equipment, and related technical services. The government explicitly encourages the use of locally manufactured new energy products and prioritizes supporting the development of local industrial chains. Large scale photovoltaic energy storage projects will also drive the demand for supporting infrastructure such as substations, high-voltage transmission, grid access, and electrical engineering, bringing new market space to upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain.Editor/Gao Xue