Solarpack, a Spanish solar company, has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for 116 MW of solar projects in Malaysia.

In August 2019, the company won the bid to develop 116 MW “Suria Sungai Petani” project in northern Malaysia, at a tariff of RM 231.8 (~$56)/MWh.

The tender was issued in February 2019, by Suruhanjaya Tenaga (Energy Commission of Malaysia) to develop 500 MW of large-scale solar projects in Peninsular Malaysia. Once commissioned, the projects were to be connected to the grid and sell energy to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) under a power purchase agreement. This was the third large-scale solar project tender under the country’s large-scale solar program. The project capacity was between 1-100 MW and expected to be commissioned by 2021.

A total of 112 bids were submitted against this tender, out of which five were awarded capacities. The PPA assures energy sales for Solarpack exceeding RM 800 million (~$195 million). The project is expected to produce about 180 GWh of solar energy every year.

The long-term PPA will be for 21 years, which will come into effect from the date of commissioning of the project, which is December 31, 2021.

With this award, Solarpack has accumulated a total of 215 MW of projects in 2019 (including 100 MW of EPC for third parties in Spain), taking its cumulative capacity to 510 MW.

In November 2018, Mercom reported that the Malaysian government was likely to come up with an open tender in 2019 for an estimated RM 2 billion ($490 million) worth of solar projects. The country aims to increase its exposure to renewable energy from 2 percent to 20 percent by the year 2025. The country aims to increase its exposure to renewable energy from 2% to 20% by the year 2025.

The country’s leading utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), in April 2018, entered into PPAs for 60 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects. This was after it entered PPAs with six separate project developers to establish a combined 180 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects in March 2018. TNB had secured RM 339 million (~$79 million) in financing from Affin Islamic Bank Bhd for a 50 MW large-scale solar project in Selangor, Malaysia, in August 2017.

In December 2017, Suruhanjaya Tenaga, awarded 563 MW of solar projects in its second large scale solar tender, against an original planned capacity of 460 MW. Those projects are expected to be commissioned by 2020.

Iamge Credit: Solarpack

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.