The government is now seen to be building a national-scale power supply system that uses electricity from sustainable sources, especially solar. This is not surprising when we get a high rate of sunlight every day.
To this end, the government is seen to be building a large-scale battery grid project that is capable of storing electricity generated through solar power generation, which will then be distributed to the national electricity grid for use by various sectors.
The MyBeST program was established in the middle of this year to make the plan a reality. Under this program, four large-scale solar battery grids will be developed, where each grid is capable of generating and storing 100-400MW of sustainable electricity and will then be utilized when the demand for electricity consumption is higher.
Bidding for this project has already closed at the end of July, with around 20 energy companies having bid for it. Big names in the energy industry such as Tenaga Nasional, YTL Power, Malakoff, Gamuda Bhd, Petronas Gas have reportedly bid for this project.
Interestingly, Gentari, a subsidiary of Petronas that focuses on developing electric charging technology has also bid for this project. Other smaller energy companies such as BM Greentech and MSR Green Energy have also reportedly submitted their bids.
Solar equipment suppliers such as Solarvest Holdings, Samaiden Group and Pekat Group have also bid to be engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning partners for this project.
Details of this solar battery grid have also been revealed. The company that will be awarded the tender to develop this project will be announced in October 2025, and will be responsible for ensuring that this battery grid system begins operating by April 30, 2027.
In addition, these grids will also need to operate for 15 years after they are activated, and must be able to hold an electrical charge of 300MW or 75 percent of the total capacity of this grid at the end of the 15 years.
Not only that, MyBeST said that the battery cells used for this grid must pass the BloombergNEF Tier 1 standard. This standard is commonly used by investors and banks to assess the effectiveness and profitability of such energy supply projects and also the ability of companies to repay any loans taken.
Malaysia has a plan to ensure that 31 percent of the national electricity supply is made up of sustainable energy by 2025 and will be increased to 40 percent by 2035.