Blinken's visit to Malaysia also to discuss renewable energy sources - Takiyuddin

KUALA LUMPUR: The visit to Malaysia by US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken, among others, is to discuss electricity generation from renewable energy (RE) sources, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the matter would be discussed at a meeting between Blinken and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today.

He told this to Parliament during the question and answer session in response to a supplementary question from Charles Anthony Santiago (PH-Klang) on the government's plan to stimulate renewable energy power generation.

Blinken is here on a two-day working visit to Malaysia during which he is scheduled to attend a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah in Putrajaya before calling on the prime minister at the Parliament building later in the day.

According to Wisma Putra, the visit will provide an excellent opportunity for Malaysia and the US to further strengthen their multifaceted cooperation and explore new joint initiatives.

Meanwhile, Takiyuddin said the government aimed to reduce its dependence on coal as a source to generate electricity by setting a target of 31 per cent RE capacity in the country's electricity supply by 2025 and 40 per cent by 2035.

"This target will be achieved through the implementation and improvement of existing RE programmes such as Feed-in Tariff (FiT), Net Energy Metering (NEM), SelfConsumption (SelCo) and New Enhanced Dispatch Arrangement (NEDA).

"In line with the government's target to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electricity supply sector, the government has also decided that there will be no building of new coal plants ," he added.

Charles, in his original question, wanted to know the government's immediate measure or /plan to stop the use of fossil fuels in generating energy, to stimulate renewable energy power generation and to reduce carbon emissions in order to achieve Carbon Neutral by 2050.

-- BERNAMA