Effect of Renewable Energy Policies on the Energy Transition Phase in Malaysia

Malaysia’s energy transition to a lower-carbon pathway necessitates clear direction and policies that strike a balance between energy transition and affordability. Therefore, the current energy system's capability must be critically assessed in order to enable a sustainable transition to a low-carbon energy system. The objective of this study is to use a data envelopment analysis (DEA) method to assess the effect of renewable energy policies on accelerating the energy transition during the period 2010–2017, using 13 Malaysian states as decision-making units. Results reveal that the renewable energy share (RES) increased two-fold, by 5.99% in 2010 and 12.10% in 2017, due to the policy transition including the SREP, the FiT and the integrated programme. Furthermore, during the study period, Malaysia's renewable energy development performance rate was 91.6 percent. The study shows that during the first policy transition from the SREP to the FiT programme in 2011–2012 and the second policy transition from the FiT to the integrated programme in 2016–2017, the efficiency scores of renewable energy development in Malaysia dropped. Implementing an integrated programme successfully increased the performance of Malaysia’s states compared with single policy programmes such as SREP and FiT using the RES-efficiency matrix analysis. The application of DEA for evaluating policy transition and the effects on renewable energy deployment serve as valuable guidelines for governments and policymakers. The recommendations for assessing the renewable energy transition among ASEAN countries are also discussed.