Photo: Isaac Liew Leng Zheng

Green technology and sustainable solutions in Malaysia

Sustainable economic development is essential in Malaysia's long-term development plans

and Malaysia has recognized green technology as one of the key drivers of national
economic growth. Malaysia is determined to become a major player in green technology and
renewable energy. This provides many opportunities for Dutch expertise in these fields.

Water management non-revenue water and sewage systems. The

Malaysian water sector could also greatly
One of the main challenges of Malaysia is the benefit from Dutch innovations in rain water
sustainable management of water resources. harvesting, battling algae in surface water, and
The country is rich in water resources, but expertise on how to cope with water pollution
growing demands due to economic growth lead events. Dutch know-how in flood forecasting
to water shortages in dry periods. This and flood resistance would also be very useful
contrasts with severe floods during monsoon to Malaysia.
period due to heavy and irregular rainfall. In
addition, there are many challenges for
Malaysia with regards to water treatment,
distribution and sewage services. Only a little
over half of the population of Malaysia is
connected to central sewage (as of 2015),
many others are dependent on personal or
community septic tanks. Efforts are being made
to increase sustainability in the water sector
and improve flood mitigation policies. This
provides many opportunities for Dutch expertise
in the water sector.

Photo: Villagepump b.v.

The biggest opportunities for Dutch expertise lie

within consultancy in demand management,
 Clean energy
Malaysia possesses various indigenous
renewable energy resources, including biomass,
biogas, mini-hydro and solar that can be
leveraged to guarantee a more sustainable
energy supply. Hydropower already plays a
significant part of the nation's energy mix
(16.1% in 2015) and mini-hydropower from
streams and rivers has increased the electricity
supply in rural areas. Biomass and solar power
have been identified by the Malaysian
government as the two most promising sources
of sustainable energy. However, solar energy
might not be the best option for renewable
energy production, as Malaysia only has an
average of about 4 hours of solar insulation per
day. Another option is the utilization of biomass
of the palm oil industry to generate bio energy.
Photo: Greentech Corp.
Although Malaysia has many potential
renewable energy sources, sustainable energy
still represents a small minority of Malaysia’s
total installed power capacity (5.5% in 2015).
The national energy sector still tends to rely on
non-renewable fuels such as oil and gas.
However, the Malaysian government is now
actively promoting renewable energy.
According to the National Renewable Energy
Policy and Action Plan, effective since June
2010, Malaysia should have more than 4000
megawatt installed sustainable energy capacity
in 2030. To reach this objective, the Malaysian
government has launched a feed-in tariff
system that could spur the development of
renewable energy technologies including
biomass, biogas, mini-hydro and solar. In
addition, the government has introduced
several tax incentives for companies that are
investing in green technologies.
The focus on green technology and sustainable
energy brings new business opportunities for
Dutch companies and research institutes
specialized in various renewable energy
technologies.
Biomass
Oil palm plantations cover 15 percent of the
country (4.7 million ha) and generate large
quantities of biomass, including empty fruit
bunches (EFB), palm kernel shells, palm trunks
and palm oil mill effluent (POME). These
residues cause environmental problems, such
as air- and water pollution, but also provide
business opportunities. By making use of the
right technologies, palm oil residues can be
converted into bioenergy and other by-
products.
As empty fruit bunches are not suitable for the
production of food, they can be used to produce
bio-ethanol or oil, char and gas by using
chemical or thermo-chemical conversion
processes. This would open new markets for
Malaysia in countries that are willing to pay a
premium for products with less greenhouse gas
emissions. According to estimates, biomass
could generate up to 20% of the country's
electricity by 2020.
The Malaysian government has expressed the
ambition to make the palm oil sector more
sustainable by 2020. Due to new, more
stringent regulations, Malaysian palm oil
companies are now forced to improve the
sustainability of their palm oil plantations. This
has led to increasing interest in expertise in
palm oil waste valorisation.
As all palm oil mills are required to trap biogas
by 2020, the Malaysian palm oil industry can
benefit from Dutch technologies and expertise
in optimizing biogas facilities. Besides that,
Dutch companies can also provide innovative
technologies in waste water treatment and the
large-scale production of energy from biomass
and consulting services to help palm oil
companies to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions. The interest in producing chemicals,
oleo derivatives, and second generation biofuels
from palm oil biomass creates another
opportunity for Dutch expertise.
For support, questions or comments,
please contact the Embassy of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands in Malaysia:
m kll-ea@minbuza.nl
t (+60) 3 2168 6200
w Malaysia.NLembassy.org