Govt plans rooftop solar buyback, metering programme extension to spur solar adoption

• At the same time, the government is calling for companies to offer a model for residential rooftop solar installation that requires zero capital expenditure (capex), such as those currently offered by Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) green energy unit Gentari Sdn Bhd.

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): The government is developing a rooftop solar buyback programme and will extend the current net energy metering (NEM) programme to Dec 31, 2024, in a bid to incentivise rooftop solar installation, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

At the same time, the government is calling for companies to offer a model for residential rooftop solar installation that requires zero capital expenditure (capex), such as those currently offered by Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) green energy unit Gentari Sdn Bhd.

Minister of Economy Rafizi Ramli said in August that the government intends to implement market reforms enabling residential rooftop owners to earn income from their rooftops through solar installations.

Under this plan, companies would invest in these installations and pay monthly rent to the rooftop owners. 

Although the mechanism is still being refined, Gentari and SOLS Energy have introduced a subscription-based service in June to make rooftop solar installations accessible to interested consumers without upfront costs.

Other models available include full purchase that requires consumers to pay the full system costs to own the rooftop solar assets.

Malaysia’s residential NEM programme — where electricity generated from a house’s rooftop solar power system offsets consumption on a one-to-one basis — has a 26.03MW quota balance, out of 150MW made available.

For non-domestic consumers, the quota balance stands at 151.11MW, out of 800MW made available, according to data from the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda).

Looking to buy a home? Sign up for EdgeProp START and get exclusive rewards and vouchers for ANY home purchase in Malaysia (primary or subsale)!