FEDERAL GOVT FULLY SUPPORTS SARAWAK'S VISION OF BECOMING HYDROGEN PRODUCTION HUB

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- The federal government fully supports Sarawak’s aspirations to advance its energy transition goals, particularly in expanding the state’s renewable energy (RE) capacity to 15 gigawatts (GW) by 2035.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the government also backs Sarawak’s ambition to become a regional hydrogen production hub.

“The federal government, particularly the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA), ensures that Sarawak’s energy transition initiatives, including RE supply and generation planning, are integrated into national development plans.

“The government is also committed to collaborating and sharing expertise with regulatory agencies and stakeholders in Sarawak to support RE development,” said Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question from Rodiyah Sapiee (GPS-Batang Sadong) regarding the federal government’s commitment to supporting Sarawak’s goal of becoming a major renewable energy hub in Southeast Asia.

Media reports indicate that Sarawak’s hydrogen hub is expected to be completed by 2027, enabling the state to establish a hydrogen production plant in collaboration with foreign partners, including South Korea, which will serve as a key consumer.

Fadillah said that one of PETRA’s strategic initiatives to achieve the target of 40 per cent RE usage by 2035 is the development of large-scale solar power plants under the Large-Scale Solar (LSS) programme.

Additionally, PETRA actively promotes the adoption of solar energy through initiatives such as the Net Energy Metering (NEM) and Solar for Self-Consumption (SelCo) programmes, encouraging the installation of solar systems on building rooftops.

“Other key measures include the development of RE power plants funded directly by green electricity consumers through the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) and the implementation of non-solar energy generation projects under the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and the Low Carbon Energy Generation programmes,” he added.

-- BERNAMA