Malaysia commissions its first big BESS at coal-fired power plant site

Malaysian utilities company Sarawak Energy has commissioned what is described as the nation’s first utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS). The 60 MW/82 MWh BESS, which was first energized in Dec 2024, shares the site with the soon-to-be-phased-out Sejingkat Power Plant, first commissioned in 1998.

The commissioning is a new development for utility-scale BESS in Malaysia. The country is turning to energy storage and other forms of renewables to meet its population’s growing demand for power.

Sarawak Energy Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Haji Sharbini Suhaili remarked that as energy demand continues its upward trajectory in Malaysia, initiatives such as the newly commissioned BESS plant “can safeguard the reliability” of Sarawak’s local electricity supply, as well as enhance Malaysia’s ability to power industries, businesses and communities.

“More importantly,” he continued, the deal represents the “mission to light up Sarawak, fostering economic resilience and ensuring equitable access to energy, regardless of geographical location.”

The BESS provides grid services, including primary spinning reserve, voltage and frequency regulation, and peak demand management. It supports the overall optimization of power generation and grid systems.

Sarawak also plans to assess the BESS’s ability to integrate intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar.

Malaysia has been taking steps to increase its solar capacity in recent months. In Jan. 2025, the country’s Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra) announced that it was adding an additional bidding round under its Large Scale Solar (LSS) program for the development of 2 GW of PV power.

That was the second LSS bid in less than 12 months after Petra conducted a round of bidding for the development of 2 GW of large-scale solar for Malaysia in April 2024.