RE Players Need More Flexible Risk Assessment To Boost Project Bankability – SEDA
By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- Securing project bankability and adapting conventional risk assessment approaches are among the challenges facing Malaysia’s renewable energy (RE) sector, despite the availability of green financing and financial institutions’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments.
Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia chief strategy officer Saiful Hakim Abdul Rahman said financial institutions need to re-evaluate how they assess risk for emerging green energy technologies, moving away from their current approach, which often relies on conventional risk management tools.
He said RE sources face different challenges depending on the resource, whether solar, hydro or bioenergy.
"To create a feasible, bankable project is difficult because it is not only about the resources or mechanism, but also how to package it into a very bankable project.
"Most of the projects, even though they get proper resources and ideas, cannot really take off because they are not bankable," he told Bernama during the 7th International Sustainable Energy Summit (ISES) 2026 here today.
To address these challenges, Saiful Hakim said SEDA is identifying potential clean energy resources across Malaysia, including small hydro, bioenergy, geothermal, wind, ocean biomass and tidal energy.
He said SEDA is also looking at the right mechanisms for different renewable resources, taking into account their varying costs and risks, to help the industry explore new resources and make projects more feasible and bankable.
By offering specialised support, he said SEDA aims to enhance project feasibility and enable financial institutions to manage risk without sidelining the RE sector.
Meanwhile, on sustainable energy use by data centres (DCs), Saiful Hakim said geothermal energy could potentially support the energy-intensive facilities, although the resource is costly to develop.
"Data centres need to understand that they cannot only look for a cheaper rate, but to get green energy, they have to pay a premium.
"Because DCs are using more, they have to contribute to the industry as well, and they may be the right off-takers for that kind of resource," said Saiful Hakim.
At ISES 2026, Saiful Hakim said the two-day summit is a strategic platform for the government to share first-hand information, progress updates and policy direction directly with industry players, academics, researchers and investors.
He said the platform also helps streamline stakeholders’ initiatives, understanding, cooperation and collaboration in line with the government’s energy transition roadmap.
Themed "Envisioning Sustainable Energy Beyond Borders", Saiful Hakim said this year's summit brings a strong ASEAN focus to cross-border opportunities.
Supported by the ASEAN Centre for Energy, the summit features at least 30 per cent foreign speakers to explore regional collaboration, cross-border investments and shared solutions, he said.
Topics include grid flexibility, energy storage, sustainable finance, bioenergy, energy efficiency and demand-side management, next-generation RE, clean fuels and other innovative solutions that would accelerate ASEAN's sustainable energy transition.
"This will open up a new direction of understanding of the potential and opportunities that we can explore across our borders in ASEAN," he added.
Established in September 2011, SEDA is a statutory body reporting to the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (PETRA) to drive the RE and energy efficiency agenda in the country.
-- BERNAMA