Malaysia’s Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) has announced that the 350 MW capacity allocated for residential solar under its net metering initiative has been fully subscribed. However, capacity remains available for government buildings, as well as commercial and industrial users, under the same program.
The 350 MW quota for residential solar was set under the country’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) Rakyat initiative, part of the broader NEM 3.0 scheme aimed at promoting rooftop solar adoption. According to SEDA, a total of 306.07 MW of this capacity has already been approved for installation.
The NEM Rakyat initiative, which began in 2021 and was expected to run until the end of this year, originally set aside an initial quota of 150 MW for residential solar installations. However, due to strong demand, the quota was extended by an additional 100 MW, followed by a further 100 MW extension, bringing the total to 350 MW.
In a bid to further encourage solar adoption, the Malaysian government introduced the Solar for Rakyat Incentive Scheme (SolaRIS) in April. This program offers households rebates of up to MYR 4,000 ($942) for solar installations. The rebate scheme spurred a surge in applications for NEM Rakyat, increasing daily submissions from approximately 100 to 150 by August.
While the residential solar quota has been filled, Malaysia’s net-metering schemes for other sectors still have available capacity. The NEM GoMEn program, which targets government buildings, has 45.68 MW of its 100 MW quota remaining. Similarly, the NEM Nova scheme, aimed at commercial and industrial users, still has 110.55 MW available from a total allocation of 1,100 MW. Both programs are expected to continue until the end of the year, or until their respective capacities are exhausted.
Under these net-metering initiatives, consumers use the energy generated by their solar installations first, with any excess exported to the national utility, Tenaga Nasional Bhd. This scheme is part of Malaysia’s wider effort to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.