Malaysia to get 10GW renewables capacity in UAE deal

Malaysia and the UAE will work together to set up 10GW of renewable energy capacity in Malaysia by 2025.

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and state-owned renewables company Abu Dhabi Future Energy, also known as Masdar, have signed an initial agreement to jointly develop the project worth $8bn, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said on 5 October.

Malaysia, the world's fourth-largest LNG producer, aims to achieve 31pc or 12.9GW renewable energy capacity by 2025 and 40pc or 18GW by 2035. This is up from an existing 23pc or 8.45GW of renewable energy in its installed power generation capacity, it said in its renewable energy roadmap in 2021.

The government unveiled a detailed energy transition roadmap at the end of August where it sees the country achieving 70pc installed renewable energy capacity by 2050, when it also aims to reach net zero.

The partnership is also a win for Masdar, which has a wider plan of growing its global renewable generation portfolio to 100GW by 2030.

Malaysia and the UAE previously collaborated to explore opportunities in Abu Dhabi's oil and gas sector, with the scope of the agreement between state-owned Malaysian oil firm Petronas and Abu Dhabi's Adnoc extending to potential co-operation in low-carbon initiatives.

By Reena Nathan