Embracing renewables - overcoming integration challenges from Malaysia's utility perspective

Renewables have become the emerging source of energy. The sustainable and environmental friendly energy is rapidly becoming more pronounced to alleviate the damaging effects of burning hydrocarbon fuels. For some countries that heavily rely on imported fuels, harnessing the renewable resources helps to minimize the dependency on imported fuels that is susceptible to price volatility. This paper examines the challenges facing Tenaga Nasional Berhad in integrating Utility-Scale Solar PV. The discussion is centered on the function of Single Buyer Department as the dedicated power purchasing agency for Malaysia Electric Supply Industry (MESI). A review of the status of renewables in Malaysia and government policies that support the development of renewables is briefly discussed. The paper makes comparisons with countries with similar Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) structure. The paper subsequently suggests how the roles of Malaysia's Single Buyer can be further enhanced to support the country's renewables initiatives.