KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) is targeting an increase in installed generation capacity from about 6,000 megawatts (MW) currently to 10,000MW by 2030, as it enters the next phase of its energy transition with greater integration of solar, energy storage and digital technologies.
Sarawak Energy Group chief operating officer Datuk James Ung said the utility had undergone a significant transformation over the past two decades, shifting from a predominantly hydrocarbon-based generation mix to one in which about 70 per cent of its generation capacity was now renewable hydropower.
“Since 20 years ago, Sarawak Energy only had an installed capacity of just more than 1,000MW. We have actually made an energy transition to where we are today, 2025 and 2026, with 6,000MW and 70 per cent renewable hydro, predominantly renewable hydro generation mix,” he said this during the plenary session titled ‘Pioneering the Future: Next-Gen Renewables and Clean Fuels’, held in conjunction with the 7th International Sustainable Energy Summit 2026 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here today.
Ung said the first phase of Sarawak’s energy transition focused largely on reducing carbon emissions from thermal power generation through the development of large-scale hydropower projects.
He said Sarawak Energy would continue developing hydropower while adding solar generation to meet growing electricity demand and strengthen its renewable energy mix.
He said the utility aimed to maintain at least 60 per cent of its generation mix from renewable energy, comprising mainly hydropower and solar.
“This will constitute a combination of hydropower with solar energy, forming the minimum 60 per cent of our renewable energy commitment by the Sarawak Government as well as Sarawak Energy Berhad,” he said.
Ung said energy storage would become increasingly important as solar power was incorporated into the generation mix, particularly in managing the intermittent nature of renewable generation.
“In the next phase of our energy transition, in addition to continuing to add hydropower and solar energy, we will be looking at energy storage, be it battery energy storage or pumped storage,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of deploying the latest digital technologies to support the transformation of Sarawak’s generation assets and electricity grid.
He said these technologies would help Sarawak Energy develop smarter and more intelligent generation facilities and a smart grid capable of supporting the state’s evolving energy system.
Ung said the combination of hydropower, solar, energy storage and digitalisation would be key to Sarawak Energy’s next phase of energy transition as the state continued to expand its renewable energy capacity.
