29^th August 2019, Kuala Lumpur – Cogeneration – which is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat – plays an important role in realising National Agendas. Adopting cogeneration at industrial and commercial facilities increases efficiency of energy conversion, in comparison to the conventional method of generating heat and electricity separately. The significant increase in efficiency makes cogeneration a key and integral contributor in achieving the national targets of achieving 8% savings from Energy Efficiency (EE) by 2025 and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45% by 2030 in relation to its 2005 GDP.

Even though the industrial sector in Malaysia has long been adopting cogeneration in its facilities, as of 2017, the total capacity of cogeneration in Peninsular Malaysia at approximately 1GW is still low. In comparison, the total power generation capacity for Peninsular Malaysia for the same year is 26.6GW.

Besides the industrial sector, there is relatively untapped potential for adoption of cogeneration in the building and commercial sectors. Recognising this potential, Malaysian Gas Association (MGA), recently organised a Workshop on Benefits and Awareness of Cogeneration attended by more than 70 companies and organisations including from the building and commercial sectors such as property developers and commercial complexes.

The workshop provided participants with an overview and benefits of cogeneration technology, its applicability in various industries and how significant cost savings can be achieved. The workshop concluded with a “Meet the Experts” session where participants engaged directly with experts from amongst MGA members to learn more about cogeneration technology and on how to develop a cogeneration project including how to procure natural gas in a third party access market.

Welcoming the participants, MGA President, Hazli Sham Kassim, said, “MGA has been proactively taking part in engagements and dialogues with stakeholders to promote cogeneration. MGA participates in several national-level committees including the Drafting Committee for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act (EECA) that is expected to be tabled in Parliament next year. This makes MGA well-positioned to continue to advocate for the greater adoption of cogeneration in the country.”

“Besides the attractiveness of cogeneration, there are also challenges that need to be addressed in order to further expand the adoption of cogeneration. To move forward, we call for the development of a comprehensive policy that should be designed to facilitate and expand utilisation of cogeneration in this country, to address any barrier hampering its progress and accord the necessary incentives to stimulate its growth. “

Malaysian Gas Association will continue to promote greater adoption of cogeneration through engagements and awareness programs including a forum on cogeneration to be held on 1^st October 2019. Besides increasing awareness on cogeneration, the forum will offer platform for industry players to deliberate issues relating to cogeneration.

For more information on MGA and natural gas market liberalisation, please visit www.malaysiangas.com