AS PART OF the commitment to the Paris Agreement to reduce the carbon intensity of the country by 45% by 2030, and to keep the global temperature rise to within 1.5°C, the Malaysian government introduced the renewable targets of 40% by 2035 and 70% by 2050.The National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (2016-2025) also sets a national energy efficiency target of 8% by 2025. A plethora of energy-related policies and regulations ensued, including the Renewable Energy Roadmap, National Energy Transition Roadmap and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act; all these could help Malaysia achieve its net zero target by 2050.
Adhering to the “Penang Leads” mantra, the State took the initiative to adopt a state-wide energy policy that would contribute to the achievement of these national targets. As a highly urbanised and developed state, Penang has higher electricity consumption per capita compared to the national average (see Figure 1). Its electricity consumption per unit of GDP has also been higher than the national average (see Figure 2), largely because almost half of its GDP comes from the manufacturing sector. The trend, however, has been on a downward trajectory, and the electricity intensity per GDP was likely to be below, if not on par with, the national average in the past two years. This is consistent with the downward trend of electricity intensity in the manufacturing sector in Penang (see Figure 3).
