Renewable Energy Resources

Malaysia is seen as being more than serious about increasing electricity generation from renewable energy resources. This was especially seen when our government introduced the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme under the Renewable Energy Act in 2011. 

Under this scheme, commercial and residential electricity customers can generate electricity from renewable energy, like solar energy, and sell all the generated energy to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the sole electricity utility in Malaysia. However, due to the high cost of funding such a scheme, the FIT scheme is not long-term sustainable. Because of that, in 2016, the government introduced net energy metering (NEM), named NEM 2016.

According to research papers, unlike FIT, where the customers are paid for the gross renewable energy generated from PV, NEM only considers the net energy generated. The customer will be paid based on the displaced cost per kWh unit. 

Unfortunately, NEM 2016 did not receive the target response from electricity customers in Malaysia due to unappealing financial returns. The displaced cost for a RE connection point less than 1 kV is RM 0.31/kWh. This rate does not benefit large consumers since they are paying a higher electricity tariff. To overcome the problem, our government introduced a new NEM scheme in 2019 by setting the pay rate at the retail rate per kWh of energy exported to the grid.

Net Energy Meter

Based on case studies, this policy has a better financial return than NEM 2016. For commercial and industrial systems, the maximum capacity of the PV system installed is 1 MW, or 75% of the maximum demand (MD) of their existing installation, or 60% of the fuse rating of the transformer.

For domestic or residential consumers, the maximum capacity of the PV systems installed is less than or equal to 12 kW for a single-phase system or 72 kW for a three-phase system. As mentioned before, NEM 3.0 consists of three programs, each of which is assigned to a specific market sector. NEM Rakyat (households), NEM NOVA (industrial), and NEM GoMEn (government ministries and entities).

NEM Rakyat

The first programme, NEM Rakyat, covers the residential segment. A 100-MW capacity is allocated to this programme, effective February 1, 2021. The programme applies the one-to-one NEM 3.0 policy for 10 years. The allowed maximum PV installation capacity for the domestic consumer is 4 and 10 kW for single-phase and three-phase NEM consumers, respectively. This programme benefits people a great deal. Plus, it is so vital for the environment today, especially since we are facing global warming issues.

Let’s apply to NEM 3.0 before it runs out of quota! Read here to understand why NEM 3.0 is running out of quota. 

Did you know that NEM 3.0 is coming to an end?

NEM 3.0 is only available from 2021 to 2023. So yes! Time is running out!

Why must NEM 3.0 come to an end? The answer is quite simple. It is because our government’s quota is running out, and the deadline is set to end at the end of the year. This period was given so that the Malaysian government could analyse and study the participation of residential, commercial, and industrial consumers as well as public entities and government ministries. 

Our government is slowly encouraging Malaysians to make use of solar energy. If more Malaysians decide to use solar power, our government might introduce new and improved programmes in the future.

Together we save the Earth

As you all know, the implementation of solar power has been greatly encouraged due to its influence on reducing carbon emissions. Thus, measuring the environmental benefit of using solar energy instead of fossil fuels is important. 

The rationale behind the carbon footprint tool is that the electricity generated by the photovoltaic system will replace the same amount of electricity in the existing grid. If the carbon footprint of the electricity generation on the grid is greater than that of the PV system per kWh, carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced. 

What’s Next?

At the mention of the future, all of us are wondering the same thing. What’s next? What comes after NEM 3.0? Will there be a NEM 4.0? The answer is that we do not know. We will have to wait for our government to announce its new programme. We do not know what it will be called. With the new programme come new policies for solar installation and solar-powered homes. Whether the policies we have now would remain or be discontinued is still a mystery. That is why we have to make use of NEM 3.0!

What can we do now? If you are a homeowner who wants to install solar panels, be quick to decide before the programme runs out of its quota! There’s not much of it left, and you’re running out of time! A good piece of advice would be for you to engage with Verdant Solar. You are guaranteed to receive a fast response. We at Verdant Solar are known for our efficiency. We carry out installations quickly and effortlessly. We aim to only give you the best. 

Grab the opportunity

If you think you’re too late for NEM 3.0, we are here to help. Apply to us so that we can help you queue for the next NEM. We will help you with the paperwork, so when the next NEM starts, you’ll already be on our list! 

Based on past research, there is one more important note you should all take. NEM ALWAYS exhausts its quota BEFORE the deadline. So if you’re thinking about researching this, why not let the professionals clear all your doubts for you? Contact us at Verdant Solar for a better understanding!