Shift to green energy one of Malaysia's main economic agenda – Rafizi

Shifting the country from fossil fuels to renewable green energy is one of the country's main economic agendas, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

He said green energy is the industry of the future and has a high potential for job creation.

Speaking at a press conference in Putrajaya today, Rafizi said Malaysia had - over the weekend - joined the Asia Zero Emissions Community (Azec) which is led by Japan.

Azec currently consists of Japan, Asean countries except for Myanmar, and Australia.

Rafizi said he and two other officers from the Economy Ministry had flown to Tokyo to attend the first Azec meeting - while the rest of the Malaysian delegation were embassy and agency officers who were already stationed in Japan.

He said the goal of Azec was to foster cooperation and fast-track the adoption of green energy.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

Malaysia's primary source of energy at the moment is coal.

Asked whether nuclear power would be considered for Malaysia, Rafizi replied in the negative.

"We have room for various alternative energies that are less controversial than nuclear," he said.

Instead, Rafizi said the focus for Malaysia, for now, would be on low-hanging fruits such as generating energy from hydrogen, biomass and ammonia.

For biomass energy, Rafizi said Malaysia has abundant sources from the agriculture sector - such as oil palm fronds and other agricultural waste products.

While renewable biomass energy can be generated in various ways, one popular method is to turn plant material into briquettes, which are then burned to power a turbine and generate electricity.

It is considered renewable and carbon neutral since the plant material can be regrown, and the same amount of carbon is absorbed by the plants during the growth process as is released when the biomass is burned.

Rafizi said biomass energy generation is already being done in Malaysia, but on a very small scale.

Meanwhile, Rafizi said the same expertise used in Malaysia's oil and gas industry can be used to create hydrogen plants.

He said there was high demand for hydrogen energy, including in Japan and Singapore.

Rafizi added that the same expertise can also be used to generate ammonia as energy.

Ammonia has double the energy density of liquid hydrogen.

Both fuel sources become sources of green energy when electricity from renewable sources is used in their creation.

During the press conference, Rafizi said the government plans to finalise a renewable energy roadmap in three months, aimed at creating a more conducive ecosystem for industry players to shift away from fossil fuels.

He said the government also plans to involve small and medium enterprises in renewable energy efforts.

Meanwhile, the Pandan MP said that once Malaysia shifts to renewable energy, its natural gas supply - another main source of energy in the country - can instead be sold to generate revenue instead of being used internally. - Mkini