POTENTIAL USE OF SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Energy is important in all aspects of development to support population growth, urbanization, industrialization as well as tourism industry. Energy consumption is also increasing and several alternative green energy sources are seriously taken into consideration to fulfill Malaysia’s energy demand. The Malaysian government has looked into the renewable energy (RE) sources such as solar energy to be one of the alternatives to face problems related with the increase in energy demand. However, the heavily subsidized non renewable sources in the country have made the RE sources as an uneconomical option. The aim of this paper is to briefly review the incentives and the RE Act adopted by the Malaysian government to ensure long term reliability and security of energy supply. The feed-in-tariff system, solar radiation intensity in Peninsular Malaysia and the role of renewable energy sources in the Five-Fuel Diversification Strategy energy mix are also highlighted in this paper.