KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 ― Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) aims to expand its portfolio in renewable energy (RE) in existing international markets such as the United Kingdom (UK) as well as throughout the Asia Pacific and Europe.

TNB chief new energy officer Mohd Zarihi Mohd Hashim said the expansion of the portfolio will be implemented through the establishment and increased expertise in asset development, covering solar and wind energy, whether on land or at sea, supported by utility storage (battery storage).

He said one of the main drivers of the exploration strategy is a strategic collaboration to increase the rate of market penetration and the development of capabilities or competencies to provide operational excellence.

"At TNB, we also believe in collaboration, both inside and outside the country. Collaboration is essential to foster innovation and to implement a successful energy transition.

"Thus, we will continue exploring new markets in Europe and the Asia Pacific region,” he said on the ‘Ruang Bicara: Renewable Energy Pillar of Energy Transition' programme produced by Bernama TV yesterday.

Commenting further, Mohd Zarihi said that to carry out market exploration in Europe, TNB has a wholly-owned subsidiary, Vantage RE Ltd in the UK, which will be the focal point of operations in exploring renewable energy generation assets in the UK and Europe.

"In addition, we are also actively exploring the Southeast Asian market where we have several strategic partners in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand to further develop cooperation at the Asean level in cross-border topics for Malaysia to become a green energy hub in the region,” he said.

He added that investors now have the confidence to invest in the renewable energy industry, in line with the government's aspirations to provide clear policies, guidance and funding for new technology investments.

Currently, he said Malaysia and Asean are very interested in obtaining the same benefits from cross-border trade as their partners in Europe where cooperation in the region has reached an estimated €34 billion (RM172 billion) in strengthening the cross-border market in the union.

"There is already a common understanding among Asean countries about how critical the importance of energy transition is. This has helped push the Asean region to speed up the long-delayed connectivity programme,” he noted.

Touching on the allocation of capital expenditure and high investment in this energy transition, Mohd Zarihi said TNB continues to increase capital expenditure and investment to ensure electricity infrastructure is ready for the future and enable the country to achieve energy sustainability in line with the set targets.

He said according to the proposed plan to invest RM22 billion from 2022 to 2024 based on the Incentive-Based Regulatory (IBR) framework, TNB wants to continue to develop the grid of the future as the main enabler of the transition through the connectivity of the entire value chain starting from generation to distribution to consumer premises.

"Therefore, TNB needs about RM450 billion in capital expenditure (capex) for the same period in pursuing its own energy transition agenda for Malaysia. This is a huge investment,” he added.

Meanwhile, TNB aims to record more than 14 GW of Renewable Energy capacity by 2050 which will reduce about 6.9 million Tco2/MWh of avoidable carbon dioxide mass.

That objective is in line with TNB's aspiration to become the best supplier of sustainable energy solutions in Malaysia and internationally, he said.

In realising that aspiration, TNB will organise an energy transition conference on August 28-29 themed "Accelerating a Responsible Energy Transition” at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. ― Bernama