Impact Of Covid-19 on renewable energy sector and lessons learned: A case study on Malaysia
Corresponding Author(s) : Ateeb Hassan
Future Energy,
Vol. 1 No. 3 (2022): November 2022 Issue
Abstract
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been destructive in various sectors of Malaysia. In the renewable energy sector, Malaysia thrives in harvesting solar energy, biomass energy, and hydro energy, but despite years of development, the impacts of COVID-19 on these fields remain significant. This paper reviewed, analyzed, and summarized the effects of COVID-19 on the renewable energy sector in Malaysia. According to reviews, solar energy projects experience postponements as the import of solar panels is halted. At the same time, biomass saw its productivity reduced as workers were sent home as a measure to curb COVID-19. The same can be seen with the hydroelectric dams, where a single case may form a cluster which, once again, puts the entire project on hold. These are just some examples of the disastrous impact of COVID-19. However, there are positive impacts as well. The reduction in CO2 emission and the investment in the renewable energy sector once fossil fuel drops its price are the same example testimonies. The future of the renewable energy sector after COVID-19 and the lessons learned from the impacts of COVID-19 are reviewed and presented in this paper as well.
Keywords
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
- K. H. Solangi, T. N. W. Lwin, N. A. Rahim, M. S. Hossain, R. Saidur, and H. Fayaz, "Development of solar energy and present policies in Malaysia," in 2011 IEEE 1st Conference on Clean Energy and Technology, CET 2011, 2011, pp. 115–120, doi: 10.1109/CET.2011.6041447.
- F. Mushtaq, W. Maqbool, R. Mat, and F. N. Ani, "Fossil fuel energy scenario in Malaysia-prospect of indigenous renewable biomass and coal resources," in CEAT 2013 - 2013 IEEE Conference on Clean Energy and Technology, 2013, pp. 232–237, DOI: 10.1109/CEAT.2013.6775632.
- M. Vaka, R. Walvekar, A. K. Rasheed, and M. Khalid, “A review on Malaysia’s solar energy pathway towards carbon-neutral Malaysia beyond Covid’19 pandemic,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 273. Elsevier Ltd, p. 122834, Nov. 10, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122834.
- IEEFA, “Malaysia sets 20% renewable energy goal by 2025 - Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis,” 2019. https://ieefa.org/malaysia-sets-20-renewable-energy-goal-by-2025/ (accessed May 22, 2021).
- Bernama, “Malaysia needs RM33bil investment to hit renewable energy target,” 2019. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/09/518408/malaysia-needs-rm33bil-investment-hit-renewable-energy-target (accessed May 22, 2021).
- Ş. Y. Balaman, "Introduction to Biomass—Resources, Production, Harvesting, Collection, and Storage," in Decision-Making for Biomass-Based Production Chains, Elsevier, 2019, pp. 1–23.
- B. S. How et al., "An outlook of Malaysian biomass industry commercialisation: Perspectives and challenges," Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 113, p. 109277, Oct. 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.109277.
- N. Raman, I. Hussein, and K. Palanisamy, "Micro hydro potential in West Malaysia," in ICEE 2009 - Proceeding 2009 3rd International Conference on Energy and Environment: Advancement Towards Global Sustainability, 2009, pp. 348–359, DOI: 10.1109/ICEENVIRON.2009.5398621.
- Mohibullah, M. A. M. Radzi, and M. I. A. Hakim, "Basic design aspects of micro hydro power plant and its potential development in Malaysia," in National Power and Energy Conference, PECon 2004 - Proceedings, 2004, pp. 220–223, DOI: 10.1109/PECON.2004.1461647.
- K. H. D. Tang, "Hydroelectric dams and power demand in Malaysia: A planning perspective," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 252. Elsevier Ltd, p. 119795, Apr. 10, 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119795.
- “Coronavirus,” 2020. https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1 (accessed May 22, 2021).
- "WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard | WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard With Vaccination Data," 2021. https://covid19.who.int/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- "WHO COVID-19 Explorer," 2021. https://worldhealthorg.shinyapps.io/covid/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- A. Haleem, M. Javaid, and R. Vaishya, "Effects of COVID-19 pandemic in daily life," Curr. Med. Res. Pract., vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 78–79, Mar. 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.cmrp.2020.03.011.
- C. D. Jones et al., "The Climate Response to Emissions Reductions due to COVID‐19: Initial Results from CovidMIP," Geophys. Res. Lett., vol. 48, no. 8, p. e2020GL091883, Apr. 2021, DOI: 10.1029/2020gl091883.
- "Malaysia Solar Energy Market Size, Share, Trends & Analysis | COVID-19 Impact Report 2021 to 2026 - Mordor Intelligence," 2021. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/malaysia-solar-energy-market (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- N. Adnan and S. M. Nordin, "How COVID 19 effect Malaysian paddy industry? Adoption of green fertilizer a potential resolution," Environment, Development and Sustainability. Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2020, DOI: 10.1007/s10668-020-00978-6.
- H. Eroğlu, "Effects of Covid-19 outbreak on environment and renewable energy sector," Environment, Development and Sustainability, vol. 23, no. 4. Springer Science and Business Media BV, pp. 4782–4790, Apr. 01, 2021, DOI: 10.1007/s10668-020-00837-4.
- C. Pickard-Cambridge, L. Moffitt, and S. Hong, "Extension of Malaysia lockdown hurts biomass output," 2020. https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2090300-extension-of-malaysia-lockdown-hurts-biomass-output (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- S. Hong, "Malaysia's biomass output uncertainty continues," 2020. https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2102032-malaysias-biomass-output-uncertainty-continues (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- M. M. Chu, "COVID-19 pandemic causes labour shortage for Malaysia's palm industry | Reuters," 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/healthcoronavirus-malaysia-palmoil/covid-19-pandemic-causes-labour-shortage-for-malaysias-palm-industry-idUSL4N2D3299 (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- The Edge Markets, "SEDA completing e-bidding for biogas, small hydropower – SEDA," 2019. http://www.seda.gov.my/2019/07/seda-completing-e-bidding-for-biogas-small-hydropower/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- S. Tawie, "Sarawak minister says working with Sarawak Energy Berhad over Covid-19 spike at Baleh hydro dam site | Malaysia | Malay Mail," 2021. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/04/29/sarawak-minister-says-working-with-sarawak-energy-berhad-over-covid-19-spik/1970296 (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- N. R. Somers, "Design of the Upper Padas hydro project in Sabah | Hydropower & Dams International," 2014. https://www.hydropower-dams.com/articles/design-of-the-upper-padas-hydro-project-in-sabah/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- “Malaysia: 2021 Budget Highlights,” BDO, 2021. https://www.bdo.my/getattachment/Insights/Featured-Insights/Budget-2021-Highlights/BDO-2021-Budget-Highlights-(4).pdf.aspx?lang=en-GB#:~:text=The 2021 Budget allocates a,initial budget allocation of RM297. (accessed May 22, 2021).
- S. A. Hapiz, "Legal Updates On The Solar Energy Industry In Malaysia. | Conventus Law," 2020. https://www.conventuslaw.com/report/legal-updates-on-the-solar-energy-industry-in/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- N. F. T. Arifin et al., "Potential application of biomass derived graphene for COVID-19 pandemic," Mater. Today Proc., Feb. 2021, DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.379.
- W. S. W. Abdullah, M. Osman, M. Z. A. A. Kadir, and R. Verayiah, "The potential and status of renewable energy development in Malaysia," Energies, vol. 12, no. 12, p. 2437, Jun. 2019, DOI: 10.3390/en12122437.
- "SMEC Malaysia | Professional Engineering and Development Consultants,” 2016. https://www.smec.com/en_my (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
- “Harnessing hydropower in Malaysia - International Water Power,” 2020. https://www.waterpowermagazine.com/features/featureharnessing-hydropower-in-malaysia-8396270/ (accessed May 22, 2021).
References
K. H. Solangi, T. N. W. Lwin, N. A. Rahim, M. S. Hossain, R. Saidur, and H. Fayaz, "Development of solar energy and present policies in Malaysia," in 2011 IEEE 1st Conference on Clean Energy and Technology, CET 2011, 2011, pp. 115–120, doi: 10.1109/CET.2011.6041447.
F. Mushtaq, W. Maqbool, R. Mat, and F. N. Ani, "Fossil fuel energy scenario in Malaysia-prospect of indigenous renewable biomass and coal resources," in CEAT 2013 - 2013 IEEE Conference on Clean Energy and Technology, 2013, pp. 232–237, DOI: 10.1109/CEAT.2013.6775632.
M. Vaka, R. Walvekar, A. K. Rasheed, and M. Khalid, “A review on Malaysia’s solar energy pathway towards carbon-neutral Malaysia beyond Covid’19 pandemic,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 273. Elsevier Ltd, p. 122834, Nov. 10, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122834.
IEEFA, “Malaysia sets 20% renewable energy goal by 2025 - Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis,” 2019. https://ieefa.org/malaysia-sets-20-renewable-energy-goal-by-2025/ (accessed May 22, 2021).
Bernama, “Malaysia needs RM33bil investment to hit renewable energy target,” 2019. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/09/518408/malaysia-needs-rm33bil-investment-hit-renewable-energy-target (accessed May 22, 2021).
Ş. Y. Balaman, "Introduction to Biomass—Resources, Production, Harvesting, Collection, and Storage," in Decision-Making for Biomass-Based Production Chains, Elsevier, 2019, pp. 1–23.
B. S. How et al., "An outlook of Malaysian biomass industry commercialisation: Perspectives and challenges," Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 113, p. 109277, Oct. 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.109277.
N. Raman, I. Hussein, and K. Palanisamy, "Micro hydro potential in West Malaysia," in ICEE 2009 - Proceeding 2009 3rd International Conference on Energy and Environment: Advancement Towards Global Sustainability, 2009, pp. 348–359, DOI: 10.1109/ICEENVIRON.2009.5398621.
Mohibullah, M. A. M. Radzi, and M. I. A. Hakim, "Basic design aspects of micro hydro power plant and its potential development in Malaysia," in National Power and Energy Conference, PECon 2004 - Proceedings, 2004, pp. 220–223, DOI: 10.1109/PECON.2004.1461647.
K. H. D. Tang, "Hydroelectric dams and power demand in Malaysia: A planning perspective," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 252. Elsevier Ltd, p. 119795, Apr. 10, 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119795.
“Coronavirus,” 2020. https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1 (accessed May 22, 2021).
"WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard | WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard With Vaccination Data," 2021. https://covid19.who.int/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
"WHO COVID-19 Explorer," 2021. https://worldhealthorg.shinyapps.io/covid/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
A. Haleem, M. Javaid, and R. Vaishya, "Effects of COVID-19 pandemic in daily life," Curr. Med. Res. Pract., vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 78–79, Mar. 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.cmrp.2020.03.011.
C. D. Jones et al., "The Climate Response to Emissions Reductions due to COVID‐19: Initial Results from CovidMIP," Geophys. Res. Lett., vol. 48, no. 8, p. e2020GL091883, Apr. 2021, DOI: 10.1029/2020gl091883.
"Malaysia Solar Energy Market Size, Share, Trends & Analysis | COVID-19 Impact Report 2021 to 2026 - Mordor Intelligence," 2021. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/malaysia-solar-energy-market (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
N. Adnan and S. M. Nordin, "How COVID 19 effect Malaysian paddy industry? Adoption of green fertilizer a potential resolution," Environment, Development and Sustainability. Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2020, DOI: 10.1007/s10668-020-00978-6.
H. Eroğlu, "Effects of Covid-19 outbreak on environment and renewable energy sector," Environment, Development and Sustainability, vol. 23, no. 4. Springer Science and Business Media BV, pp. 4782–4790, Apr. 01, 2021, DOI: 10.1007/s10668-020-00837-4.
C. Pickard-Cambridge, L. Moffitt, and S. Hong, "Extension of Malaysia lockdown hurts biomass output," 2020. https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2090300-extension-of-malaysia-lockdown-hurts-biomass-output (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
S. Hong, "Malaysia's biomass output uncertainty continues," 2020. https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2102032-malaysias-biomass-output-uncertainty-continues (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
M. M. Chu, "COVID-19 pandemic causes labour shortage for Malaysia's palm industry | Reuters," 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/healthcoronavirus-malaysia-palmoil/covid-19-pandemic-causes-labour-shortage-for-malaysias-palm-industry-idUSL4N2D3299 (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
The Edge Markets, "SEDA completing e-bidding for biogas, small hydropower – SEDA," 2019. http://www.seda.gov.my/2019/07/seda-completing-e-bidding-for-biogas-small-hydropower/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
S. Tawie, "Sarawak minister says working with Sarawak Energy Berhad over Covid-19 spike at Baleh hydro dam site | Malaysia | Malay Mail," 2021. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/04/29/sarawak-minister-says-working-with-sarawak-energy-berhad-over-covid-19-spik/1970296 (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
N. R. Somers, "Design of the Upper Padas hydro project in Sabah | Hydropower & Dams International," 2014. https://www.hydropower-dams.com/articles/design-of-the-upper-padas-hydro-project-in-sabah/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
“Malaysia: 2021 Budget Highlights,” BDO, 2021. https://www.bdo.my/getattachment/Insights/Featured-Insights/Budget-2021-Highlights/BDO-2021-Budget-Highlights-(4).pdf.aspx?lang=en-GB#:~:text=The 2021 Budget allocates a,initial budget allocation of RM297. (accessed May 22, 2021).
S. A. Hapiz, "Legal Updates On The Solar Energy Industry In Malaysia. | Conventus Law," 2020. https://www.conventuslaw.com/report/legal-updates-on-the-solar-energy-industry-in/ (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
N. F. T. Arifin et al., "Potential application of biomass derived graphene for COVID-19 pandemic," Mater. Today Proc., Feb. 2021, DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.379.
W. S. W. Abdullah, M. Osman, M. Z. A. A. Kadir, and R. Verayiah, "The potential and status of renewable energy development in Malaysia," Energies, vol. 12, no. 12, p. 2437, Jun. 2019, DOI: 10.3390/en12122437.
"SMEC Malaysia | Professional Engineering and Development Consultants,” 2016. https://www.smec.com/en_my (accessed 22nd May, 2021).
“Harnessing hydropower in Malaysia - International Water Power,” 2020. https://www.waterpowermagazine.com/features/featureharnessing-hydropower-in-malaysia-8396270/ (accessed May 22, 2021).