Integration of renewable energy into grid system - the Sabah Green Grid

In Malaysia, renewable energy made its official debut in 2001 through the 8th Malaysia Plan whereby renewable energy target was embedded in the national energy mix. Since then, the government has rolled out several policies and act to promote renewable generation but the take up rate was very slow. The introduction of Feed in Tariff (FiT) in 2011 in Peninsula Malaysia, managed to heighten the interest in commercial renewable energy generation, predominantly from solar producers. The scope of FiT was then expanded to include Sabah and WP Labuan beginning 2014. Sabah, being the largest crude palm oil producing state in Malaysia, hosts a huge potential for biomass integration to the grid via this scheme. This paper looks generally into the renewable acts and policies in Malaysia and their impact on the development of renewables in the country. The paper then discusses the renewables potential and their challenges in integrating renewables to the grid by focusing on biomass in Sabah as a case study. Finally, the paper explores the way forward through establishment of the Sabah Green Grid as a means to promote grid integration of renewable generation.