Solarvest to boost output as battery prices drop

Solarvest to boost output as battery prices drop

The solar firm has around 1.2GW of capacity in the Southeast Asian country and is set to scale up another 2GW through next year.

solarvest
Solarvest Holdings Bhd’s shares have risen 27% over the past year, boosted by new projects and expectations that data centres will drive higher power demand. (Facebook pic)
KUALA LUMPUR:
Malaysia’s biggest solar company, Solarvest Holdings Bhd, plans to more than double its generation capacity in the next two years, as declining battery costs enable further deployment of renewables.

“Power-hungry AI data centres operating in Malaysia are expected to require 7.7GWs of electricity by the end of the decade, giving Solarvest ‘huge room’ for growth,” Solarvest CEO Davis Chong said in an interview on Wednesday.

Solarvest currently has around 1.2GW of capacity in the Southeast Asian country and is set to scale up another 2GW through next year.

“This expansion is enabled by a decline in prices of battery systems, which now cost between US$90 to US$100 per kWh in the country, down from as much as US$230 per kWh about a year ago,” Chong said.

“Prices could drop further to US$60 per kWh,” he said.

A global decline in battery costs is resulting in an acceleration of installations, which help grids integrate intermittent renewables.

Battery additions are forecast to grow 33% in 2026 to an all-time high, according to BloombergNEF.

Chong also sees further growth opportunities overseas, especially in Vietnam and the Philippines, by the decade’s end.

Solarvest, co-founded by Chong in 2012, is Malaysia’s first listed solar firm.

Shares are up 27% in the past year, supported by new projects and expectations that data centres will drive higher power demand.

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