Malaysia's Sabah State Has Commissioned Southeast Asia's Largest Energy Storage Project

 

Malaysia's Sabah state has commissioned Southeast Asia's largest energy storage project, with a capacity of 645 megawatt-hours and an investment of 645 million Malaysian ringgit.

 

Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor announced that Malaysia's first large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS), BESS Lahad Datu, has been commissioned in Sabah, Borneo. The project, overseen by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), aims to ensure a stable, sufficient, and affordable power supply, and was completed in just one year from contract signing to delivery. The project contract is valued at 645 million Malaysian ringgit, equivalent to US$156.53 million. The energy storage system equipment was supplied by a subsidiary of Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd., and the project developer is the renewable energy company MSR-Green Energy.

 

BESS Lahad Datu is the largest battery energy storage project in Southeast Asia in terms of storage capacity. The Sabah state government is implementing the Sabah Energy Master Plan and Roadmap 2040, whose core principles are energy security, affordability, and environmental sustainability. The state has approved approximately 1 gigawatt of new hydropower, solar, and wind resources, and expects to commission 350 megawatts of utility-scale solar power by 2027, representing 23% of the state's total installed generation capacity. To meet peak demand and support the integration of new renewable energy sources, Sabah needs to increase its reserve capacity and deploy energy storage in strategic locations to reduce power outages.

 

The Malaysian National Energy Commission is about to award four 100 MW/400 MWh projects through the MyBeST National Battery Energy Storage Procurement Program, totaling 1.6 GWh, with a target of commercial operation by 2026. The World Bank has committed to investing in the Southern Johor Renewable Energy Corridor project, which plans to deploy 4 GW of solar PV and 5.12 GWh of battery energy storage in southern Malaysia. In addition, Malaysia's first dispatchable renewable energy power plant has been contracted in Sarawak, which will build a 310 MW peak ground-mounted solar power plant with a 620 MWh battery energy storage system.