PUTRAJAYA: IOI Corp Bhd wants to develop more solar energy projects as part of its strategy to expand its renewable energy business portfolio.
Group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Lee Yeow Chor said the company is evaluating several opportunities following its recent announcement of a 500-megawatt (MW) solar project in Bahau, Negri Sembilan.
“We have also been approached by experienced renewable energy players, and we are currently exploring several opportunities for solar plant projects,” he told reporters at the company’s annual general meeting press conference.
Lee said IOI Corp has identified at least two other estates located near major connection points to Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s electricity grid, making them potentially suitable for solar developments.
He said the group’s Bahau solar project would occupy about 486 hectares, accounting for just over 20 per cent of the estate’s total land area.
“We have other land that we are considering and are suitable. However, not all land is suitable, as it depends on proximity to the electricity grid and major connection points.
“Bahau is strategically located near a major grid connection point, and we have at least two other estates that are also situated close to major connection points on TNB’s grid,” he added.
IOI Corp chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said the group’s expansion into solar energy is aligned with its five-year strategic roadmap from 2025 to 2029, which focuses on diversifying its business portfolio.
On Tuesday, IOI Corp announced that its wholly owned unit Luminous Aspect Sdn Bhd had signed a joint venture and shareholders’ agreement with TNB Renewables Sdn Bhd (TRe) and CSP 500MW Sdn Bhd to develop a large-scale solar project in Bahau.
The project involves a 500MW alternating current solar photovoltaic facility integrated with a 250MW/1,000-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.
TRe will hold a 70 per cent stake in Bahau Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd, while Luminous Aspect and a consortium of small and medium enterprises will own 25 per cent and five per cent, respectively.
The development will be undertaken on 526.09 hectares of land in Bahau under a long-term lease arrangement with IOI Corp.
The project is supported by TNB’s long-term renewable energy offtake agreement with Singapore-based DayOne Data Centres Ltd, which is expected to procure up to 500MW of renewable energy over 21 years for its data centre operations in Malaysia.
The venture marks IOI Corp’s first large-scale renewable energy development under the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme.