KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia approved nearly RM10 billion worth of renewable energy investments between 2023 and 2025, spanning solar, hydropower and bioenergy, said Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) chairman, Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
He said the investments reflected growing investor interest in Malaysia’s renewable energy ecosystem, supported by policy certainty and grid readiness.
“Between 2023 and 2025 alone, Mida approved close to RM10 billion in renewable investments, built on policy certainty, grid readiness, and a fast-growing base of solar, hydropower, and bioenergy,” Tengku Zafrul said in his keynote address at the 7th International Sustainable Energy Summit 2026 (ISES 2026) here today.
He said the transition towards cleaner energy is increasingly tied to Malaysia’s ability to remain competitive as global manufacturers face growing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint. “This is not a favour we do for foreign investors; it is an investment in our own industrial survival because Malaysian manufacturers are now judged on their carbon footprint.”
Tengku Zafrul said the importance of a reliable energy system has been underscored by recent geopolitical and energy-market disruptions, warning that weaknesses in electricity supply could undermine investor confidence.
“One supply shock, one delayed grid upgrade, that is all it will take to unravel years of investor confidence within months,“ he said.
Malaysia’s economy grew 5.2% in 2025 before accelerating to 5.4% in the first quarter and 5.8% in the second quarter of 2026, while approved investments reached a record RM426.7 billion last year.
“But this momentum is not guaranteed. It all rests on one thing: energy and our ability to keep the lights on, affordability, predictability.”
Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia has several policy frameworks to support its energy and industrial transformation, including the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, Green Investment Strategy and National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).
“A modern industrial base needs a modern energy base,” he added.
Under the Green Investment Strategy, Malaysia is targeting RM305 billion in green investment by 2030 across seven areas, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, hydrogen, bioenergy and carbon capture.
Tengku Zafrul said the government is seeking to mobilise private capital through blended finance, sovereign guarantees and green sukuk. “We are not waiting for capital to arrive. We are now going out and mobilising it.”
The NETR targets renewable energy to account for 70% of Malaysia’s installed capacity by 2050, supported by a RM2 billion seed fund, while coal-fired power generation is targeted to be phased out entirely by 2044.
“These are bold targets, but let’s be honest, ambition does not lay a single solar panel. Capital does,” Tengku Zafrul said.
He said the growing electricity requirements of data centres further highlight the need to expand access to clean power.
Tengku Zafrul disclosed that Tenaga Nasional Bhd has signed supply agreements for close to 60 data centre projects, with almost all of them pledging to operate using clean electricity.
“Nowhere is this clearer than in data centres. Our national utility, Tenaga Nasional, has signed supply agreements for close to 60 data centre projects, and almost every single one has pledged to run on clean electricity.”
He said the Corporate Green Power Programme (CGPP), Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme and successive rounds of the Large Scale Solar programme are expanding access to renewable electricity for large consumers.
“Through CGPP, large consumers can now go straight to renewable developers and contract clean power directly, there’s no middleman, there’s no delay,” the Mida chairman said.
Malaysia could tap its long coastline and extensive reservoirs to develop emerging clean-energy sources such as floating solar and ocean energy, Tengku Zafrul said. “With a long coastline and extensive reservoirs, these are actually a gift, these are our gifts: a ready-made source of dispatchable clean power in ocean energy and floating solar.”
