Malaysia renews 10-year energy plan, targeting savings of around $27.5 billion

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia on Aug 11 renewed a 10-year action plan to improve energy efficiency, targeting savings of around US$21.5 billion (S$27.5 billion).The renewed National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) will run until 2035 and aims to reduce energy demand by 11.6 per cent, according to a statement from the energy transition and water transformation ministry.This would lead to cumulative energy savings of 815,382 terajoules compared with business-as-usual projections, equivalent to a reduction of 26.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2)-equivalent emissions, the statement said.The first NEEAP, which ran between 2016 and 2025, delivered electricity savings of 60,886 gigawatt-hours or approximately RM16.1 billion (S$5.03 billion), exceeding its target of 52,233 gigawatt-hours, Malaysia’s Economy Minister Akmal Nasir said at the launch of the plan.This was equivalent to an estimated reduction of 35.6 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent, he said.Malaysia has been pushing companies and investors to focus on energy sustainability, with demand for power expected to rise substantially amid a boom in artificial intelligence infrastructure.The country is the fastest-growing data centre hub in South-east Asia, attracting billions of dollars in investments from major global tech firms including Amazon and Microsoft.In 2023, Malaysia passed a law requiring the biggest energy consumers to implement power-saving measures, as part of its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent across the economy by 2030, and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. REUTERS