Malaysia renews 10-year energy plan, targeting savings of around US$21.5 billion

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia on Tuesday (Aug 11) renewed a 10-year action plan to improve energy efficiency, targeting savings of around US$21.5 billion.

The renewed National Energy Efficiency Action Plan 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 to business-as-usual projections, equivalent to a reduction of 26.1 million metric tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions, the statement said.

The first action plan, which ran between 2016 and 2025, delivered electricity savings of 60,886 gigawatt-hours or approximately RM16.1 billion (US$3.9 billion), exceeding its target of 52,233 gigawatt-hours, 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 added.

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.

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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