KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) has increased the sales of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to more than five million – a big jump from 15,000 sold in 2020 and from when the state-owned power utility first launched its RECs in 2019.
SEB aims to continue growing the numbers by expanding REC sales and exploring new renewable energy projects, according to its strategy and corporate development senior vice-president Dr Chen Shiun.
He was speaking at the Malaysia carbon market forum themed “The role of environmental attributes in energy transition” in Kuala Lumpur recently.
Dr Chen was part of a panel with Petroliam National Bhd senior vice-president (project delivery and technology) Mohd Yusri Mohamed Yusof, Cenergi SEA Bhd chief business development officer Kwok Yew Hoe and I-TRACK Standard Foundation director (global partnership and APAC) Roble P.Velasco Rosenheim.
Carbon credits and RECs are essential for certifying renewable energy generation.
In December 2019, SEB introduced Sarawak’s first REC, enabling corporate purchases of the renewable energy generated from the 108MW Batang Ai hydroelectric dam issued by the Tradeable Instrument for Global Renewables registry.
Each REC represents the environmental benefits of 1MWh (megawatt hour) of renewable energy.
Riding on the positive response, SEB diversified its REC portfolio to include the registration of the 944MW Murum hydroelectric dam under the I-REC registry in 2022.
The I-REC registry is an online platform designed for transparent, secure and reliable tracking of RECs. Established to implement best practice guidelines and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) standards, it ensures the integrity of each REC transaction to provide assurance to buyers.
RECs are recognised instruments to promote renewable energy generation and facilitate the transition to cleaner energy sources.
In June, Bursa Malaysia’s subsidiary, Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX), carried out its inaugural auction of RECs for the Hydropower RECs (HRECv24) from vintage year 2024 contracts. The online auction saw 15 buyers from various industries securing 268,800 HRECv contracts, which were cleared at RM4.50 per contract, generated from Murum hydroelectric plant.
BCX, according to Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, will be ready to offer RECs via continuous trading to facilitate off market transactions in fourth quarter of 2024.
As carbon credit and REC markets expand, Dr Chen noted the evolution of the markets reflects a growing commitment to sustainability across industries as companies recognise the importance of integrating environmental responsibility into their operations with sustainability goals.He expressed optimism about the future of Malaysia’s REC market, with expectations of diverse renewable energy sources coming into play and more businesses engaging in sustainability.
“The government initiatives, such as the green technology tax incentive introduced in 2014, have further supported this growth,” he said.
Dr Chen said the Sarawak government’s Sarawak Energy Transition Policy unveiled at the 2024 Asia-Pacific Green Hydrogen Conference is set to further boost energy transition with its key focus areas under which include renewable energy, hydrogen, energy efficiency, green mobility, synthetic fuels, bioenergy, oil and gas as well as carbon capture,utilisation and storage.
