Malaysia's first geothermal energy plant is on schedule to start operating in 2016.
Malaysia’s first geothermal energy plant is on schedule to start operating in 2016, according to the country’s Energy, Green Technology and Water minister Dr. Maximus Ongkili.
Site preparation work has started at the project site, which the minister toured at the end of July. He said that geothermal energy would soon eb included as a renewable energy technology under Malaysia’s Renewable Energy Act of 2011 and that it would be eligible for a feed-in tariff (FIT).
The 30 MW plant is being developed by Tawau Green Energy Sdn Bhd (TGE) at a 12 km2 site in Apas Kiri, Sabah state. The output from the plant will be sold to Sabah Electricity (SESB) under a 21-year renewable energy power purchase agreement signed in 2011.
Last year the project received final approval and registration under the UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism.
The project is estimated to cost RMB506 million.