No one in the lab could quite believe what they were seeing. An experimental device, a humidity sensor, had started generating electrical signals. Fine, you might think – except that shouldn't have been possible. "For some reason, the student who was working on the device forgot to plug in the power," says Jun Yao at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "That's the start of the story." Since that moment five years ago, Yao and his colleagues have been developing a technology that can harvest electricity from nothing but humid air: a concept known as hygroelectricity.

The Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DAEDE) will build floating solar farms on its nine reservoirs to produce some 63.43 megawatts of electricity by 2030. DAEDE director-general Prasert Sinsukprasert said recently that the aim is to make the most of the surface of all its reservoirs, and that the department is seeking state funding for the project.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) UK subsidiary, Vantage RE Ltd, will help Malaysia accelerate its energy transition (ET) by providing insights and balancing energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability. Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (picture) said this will ensure economic resilience and sustainable growth, while enhancing technology transfer and human capital competencies.

If you think cooperative groups are limited to small grocery stores in small towns, think again. In 2020, the world’s 300 largest co-operatives reported a combined turnover of US$2.1 billion, according to the World Cooperative Monitor. Forty-eight of the top 300 cooperatives globally are from the Asia Pacific region.  

The World Bank has approved two projects worth 1.1 billion USD to expand access to cleaner electricity in Indonesia. The first project, worth 500 million USD, will connect about 2 million Indonesians to the electricity grid in the eastern part of the country, increase solar power investment and help Indonesia’s electrical power company, PT. PLN Persero improve its capacity to manage energy transition, the World Bank said in a statement.

The Malaysian Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) has announced the relaxation of conditions for the Net Energy Metering (NEM) and Self-Consumption for Solar Photovoltaic Installation (SelCo) programs. The changes are aimed at promoting the use of photovoltaic (PV) solar systems in the country.

The UK government again delayed releasing a strategy to outline its vision for the role biomass will play in the country’s energy system. The biomass strategy — announced in November 2020 — was earlier due to be published late last year before being postponed until the second quarter of this year. It could now be delayed for up to another three weeks to as late as July 20, Climate Change Minister Graham Stuart said. The persistent delays in the release come as biomass is under increasing scrutiny as a power source in the UK.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Bill will be tabled in the next Parliament sitting this year, said Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. He said the bill was aimed at ensuring energy efficiency and regulating conservation practices. “This will also, crucially, assist consumers to adopt more efficient equipment and appliances and better manage their energy consumption to reduce wastage,” he said.

Strong synergy with stakeholders is crucial in paving the way towards energy transitions, said Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) Energy chief executive officer Robert Hardin. He said this is because the New Energy Economy is based on the strengths and resources that Sarawak has and the design may not work in other states or countries with a different set of resources and strengths.

 The National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and Hydrogen Economy and Technology Roadmap (HETR) targeted for rollout later this year could pave the way for Malaysia to become a main export hub for green hydrogen by 2027, says an expert. Prof Chong Meng Nan of Monash University Malaysia’s Chemical Engineering Department said he also foresaw both roadmaps being important for Malaysia’s development.“It will certainly be beneficial for leading experts, scientists and industry practitioners.

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