Solarvest lands USD-26m solar EPCC job in Malaysia, posts profit bump

Malaysian solar installer Solarvest Holdings Bhd has won a MYR-113-million (USD 25.8m/EUR 23.4m) contract to build a 30-MW/45-MWp solar farm in Mukim Pekan, Pahang.

Specifically, the company has received an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Commissioning (EPCC) contract from project developer P Solar Sdn Bhd, which is a 70%-owned subsidiary of Malaysian Renewable Energy Group Sdn Bhd.

Solarvest will construct the facility on more than 88 acres of repurposed land near the coast and together with the investor will explore the possibility of adding a battery energy storage system (BESS). The solar park should be up and running by the end of next year.

The project is being developed under the Corporate Green Power Program (CGPP), an initiative launched by the Malaysian government to enable business entities to take part in the promotion and use of renewable energy in their activities. The Mukim Pekan development, in particular, is expected to contribute nearly 60,000 Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to the market, thus helping corporate consumers meet their sustainability objectives.

“The demand for RECs are increasing in Malaysia, driven by investments in data centers and the semiconductor industry. Many companies have set ambitious sustainability goals, including achieving net-zero carbon emissions,” said Davis Chong Chun Shiong, Executive Director and Group CEO of Solarvest. He noted, though, that limited roof space is an obstruction on the path to fulfilling net-zero commitments.

Q1 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Also recently, Solarvest announced its financial results for the fiscal first quarter through June 2024, including a 17% year-on-year rise in net profit to MYR 7.8 million driven by stronger performance and improved margins in the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, and higher electricity sales from its three large-scale solar plants. As a result, the overall net profit margin has increased to 10.8% from 4.7%.

The company is in the process of diversifying its revenue streams and no longer relies solely on solar EPCC contracts, whose share of total revenue amounted to 82.5% in the particular quarter.

According to the group CEO, Solarvest is committed to achieving a 1-GW clean energy asset base by 2028 through greenfield and brownfield investments across Southeast Asia.

(MYR 1.0 = USD 0.229/EUR 0.207)