Swedfund's Project Accelerator contributes to study in Sarawak, Malaysia to improve the potential to integrate renewable power

Swedfund's Project Accelerator contributes to study in Sarawak, Malaysia to improve the potential to integrate renewable power

On December 12th, a cooperation agreement was signed between Swedfund’s Project Accelerator and the Malaysian company Sarawak Energy for a technical study on battery solutions in the Sarawak region, Malaysia, to enable the transition to renewable energy.

Swedfund's Project Accelerator is part of Swedfund with the goal of supporting the development of sustainable projects in OECD/DAC countries. The main objective of the Project Accelerator is to support sustainable procurement and strengthen the capacity of public institutions.

Sarawak Energy is a regional energy company in the Malaysian state of Sarawak in northern Borneo, near Brunei. In Sarawak, electricity is generated from predominantly renewable hydropower, at about 70%, complemented with thermal. Sarawak Energy is firmly committed to the goals of sustainability and has managed to reduce Sarawak’s grid emission intensity by 72 percent from 2010 to 2020 contributing to Sarawak’s and Malaysia’s net-zero carbon emission targets by 2050. The company works to align with the Paris Agreement and is planning to gradually phase out two coal-fired power plants.

Through a previous feasibility study funded by Swedfund, Sarawak Energy also concludes that they can integrate 1700 MW of solar power into their system, which would mean that just over 25% of the capacity would come from solar power. A first 50 MW floating solar plant is expected to start construction in 2023. In order to maintain grid stability with a higher degree of solar power generation it is possible that additional measures need to be taken. Hence, Sarawak Energy and Swedfund have agreed to cooperate on a study of how large-scale batteries could be used to support the grid.

- For Swedfund, it is important to facilitate the energy transition in developing countries and assist in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We have been very pleased with our cooperation with Sarawak and how we together advanced and closed the first study, and we look forward to continue our collaboration with a second study on the important issue of decarbonization, says Maria Håkansson, CEO, at Swedfund

- Sarawak Energy’s strategic shift to renewable hydropower is in line with the growing expectations for governments and businesses in addressing climate change and energy security. There have been much emphasis on achieving a just energy transition. Sarawak Energy looks forward to the results from this study and we believe it would provide the enablers and impetus for better cohesion of renewables in our power system. – Ting Ching Zung, Sarawak Energy Executive Vice President for Strategy and Corporate Development.