Evan Ng

Transitioning towards a low-carbon power system is critical for Malaysia to realise its potential for green growth and unlock the critical opportunity to restructure the nation’s economy for a second economic take-off. Large-scale deployment of renewables is critical in realising this vision. This article discusses the implication of the largest large-scale solar auction launched in Malaysia recently.

This article discusses Malaysia's green electricity tariff (GET) and the crucial market design considerations needed to drive wider uptake of green energy while ensuring consumers' willingness to pay for the green premium is adequately captured.

The recent announcements indicate that our future power system will be increasingly interconnected with other regional power markets. Enabling regional power system integration will only become more critical as we increase the renewable energy uptake. This article discusses the implications that cross-border electricity trading, and the wider energy transition it can enable, would bring to our day-to-day lives.

A refreshed view of electricity demand-side management is critical to future-proof our power systems as we further decarbonize them. Effective demand-side management can cost-effectively reduce the investment needed to deploy excess power generation capacity and system balancing facilities. This article discusses the holistic approach that can be considered to enhance Malaysia's electricity consumption patterns.

A low-carbon energy system is crucial to facilitate the economy-wide decarbonization. The government has been active in enhancing the energy market to create a sustainable ecosystem that can increase support from industrial players and investors. However, societal buy-in should not be overlooked. This article explores how the government can strategically enhance the economic narrative surrounding the energy transition to ensure that everyday citizens can easily grasp the benefits it brings.

The transformation to a low-carbon electricity system requires substantial investments, and public finances alone are insufficient to realise this ambition. To this end, energy policies should create a sustainable market that can translate private sector demand for clean electricity into funds to accelerate renewable deployment. This article discusses the market reforms and policy considerations to enable an effective acceleration of Malaysia's renewable energy deployment.

Transitioning away from fossil fuel in the short-to-medium­distance road transport sector presents a low-hanging fruit, given the technological maturity in electrifying them. Yet, system planners must think beyond transport electrification and recognise its synergy with the broader power system to avoid spill over effects that are counter-productive to system-wide net zero transition. This article discusses the key considerations to maximize the benefits of public transport electrification.

As we progress towards the net zero ambition, a significant amount of minerals would be required to deploy low-carbon energy assets. This will transform future energy systems from being fuel-intensive to material-intensive. This article discusses the implications that the critical mineral supply chains have on energy transition and the strategies that relevant authorities should consider to ensure a successful transition towards a sustainable energy future.

While leveraging the private sector’s growing ESG commitments is a great start, more can be done to mobilise private finances in a net-zero transition – particularly in the energy sector, which underpins virtually all economic activities in the country. Enhancing the Renewable Energy Certificate market would be a good start in capturing the growing ESG appetite to accelerate Malaysia’s transition towards a greener future. This article discusses the policies required to achieve such goal.

While the revision to targeted energy subsidies, aimed at protecting vulnerable groups, is timely, the newly elected government in Malaysia should be careful with the reform given the sensitive nature of energy subsidy. This article discusses the four key strategies that the new government should consider to ensure a successful implementation of the much needed energy subsidy reform.

Energy underpins the economy and has a direct impact on the lives of every Malaysian, especially since the government indicated its interest to rationalise energy subsidies towards market-based pricing. This article discusses the importance of having qualified individuals to safeguard this critical pillar of nation-building and to ensure that the low-carbon energy transition can be achieved in Malaysia without compromising social welfare.

While it is sensible for Petronas and TNB to explore blue hydrogen production in the short-to-medium term, there is a need for holistic thinking about transitioning towards a green hydrogen dominant future. This article discusses the wider system implications that the authority should consider in hydrogen investment in order to ensure Malaysia can be a leader in the green hydrogen space and capture great values across economics, societal, and environmental space in the long-run.

The national energy plan needs to be forward-thinking to ensure associated areas are not overlooked in the process of decarbonising power generation. Holistic studies are required and the local socioeconomic context must also be considered to ensure a successful and equitable low-carbon energy transition in Malaysia. This article discusses the need case for comprehensive planning, supporting policies, and relevant market mechanisms for Malaysia to achieve a cost-effective energy transition.

The recent failure at a substation led to a severe power outage - businesses, hospital operations and public transport systems were affected. The authority should think about energy security strategies holistically especially since the need to ensure secure supply will only increase as the country's power system transitions to a higher reliance on intermittent low-carbon generators. This article discusses the key points that the authority should consider to ensure long-term energy security.

Can EU's Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme (EEOS) be adopted in Southeast Asian countries, where improving energy efficiency represents a critical pillar to meet their #decarbonization targets under the Paris Climate Agreement? This article discusses how a well-designed EEOS can fill gaps present in the region's current policy mix and promote building retrofit with no additional financial burden on government expenditures, enabling retrofits through rational economic choice.

Subsidy reform requires commitments across administrations, which can only be achieved when a strong, clear, and logical long-term plan is in place. This article discusses the need case for an energy subsidy reform in Malaysia, as well as the key points to note in ensuring such subsidy reform is equitable to all.

Despite the availability of technologies and abundance of resources, the net zero ambition remains far from realisation – this shows that technical restructuring is likely not the main obstacle hindering energy transitions. Instead, the progression towards a renewable-dominant world is limited by various economic, financial, and market factors across different stages of the energy transition. This article discusses the key challenges and corresponding solutions to achieve a net zero transition.

As the UK progresses towards its net-zero commitments, the steel industry, which is the biggest industrial greenhouse gas contributor – accounting for 26% of the sector’s emissions will have to evolve. This article discusses a possible decarbonisation pathway for the UK steel making process and its implications to the wider steel industry.

There is no doubt that energy systems are set to evolve on a global scale to prevent detrimental climate consequences. Yet, it is often neglected that energy transition can have vastly different definitions and comes with different sets of constraints and challenges for countries worldwide. This article discusses the need for increased international cooperation to achieve sustainable energy transition and collectively mitigate climate change.

Magnetic iron-carbon nanoadsorbents synthesized using cellulose biochar as the carbon support have demonstrated great potential for removal of heavy metals (Cr (VI), As (V), Cu (II), and Pb (II)). The effects of initial solution pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial concentration and different iron mass loadings on metal ion adsorption were examined. In an attempt to avoid the capital and operating costs associated with mixing, all the adsorption experiments were conducted under no mixing… Show more

Magnetic iron-carbon nanoadsorbents synthesized using cellulose biochar as the carbon support have demonstrated great potential for removal of heavy metals (Cr (VI), As (V), Cu (II), and Pb (II)). The effects of initial solution pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial concentration and different iron mass loadings on metal ion adsorption were examined. In an attempt to avoid the capital and operating costs associated with mixing, all the adsorption experiments were conducted under no mixing conditions. Non-linear regression analysis was used to determine kinetic and isotherm parameters. The kinetics of Cr (VI), As (V), and Pb (II) uptake followed pseudo-second order while Cu (II) adsorption best fit pseudo-first order model. Weber intraparticle diffusion model applied to heavy metal uptake revealed multiple rate limiting steps representing different adsorption stages. The adsorption isotherms of all four heavy metals in this study were well fitted by three-, four- and five- parameter models indicating carbon encapsulated iron nanoparticles (CEINPs) possessed a heterogeneous surface. 40 wt % iron loaded CEINPs showed a maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of 688.6 mg g for the uptake of As (V), a significantly high value when compared to all previously tested iron-based adsorbents in literature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements on the CEINPs before and after metal ion adsorption confirmed that heavy metal adsorption process involved interactions with the metallic iron core. Further, a detailed adsorption mechanism for each metal was postulated based on the observed results. Show less