Renewable energy for continuous energy sustainability in Malaysia

Demographic change, dramatic population increase and rapid industrial growth are major trends emerging in Malaysia. Climate change and depletion of fossil fuel along with the rise in petroleum prices have forced the Malaysian Government to rethink strategies to be more in line with other developed countries including the decision to embark on renewable energy (RE) resources as a better source of energy amongst the global energy mix. The Malaysian Government is making frantic efforts to make policies, RE programmes and incentives more effective so as to promote and develop the use of RE. Malaysia is rich with fossil fuel but these are fast depleting. Although RE is necessary, current RE resources are still not enough. Therefore, exploration into other resources must be considered in order to meet future energy demands. The objective of this paper is to identify the potential of available renewable energy resources in Malaysia as well as the country's current implementation strategies. This paper also discusses the different RE policies in Malaysia. In order to determine the potential of RE, various sources and published materials in conferences, international journals and information released by relevant government bodies and miscellaneous resources are used. This research has revealed that among all the renewable energy sources that are present in Malaysia, biomass and solar energy are the most prospective ones. Plus, renewable energy (RE) sources are quite advantageous as they are free from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and related global warming effects. They can also be applied in off-grid electricity generation for rural communities. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.