Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia Berhad, has on Tuesday entered into a memorandum of collaboration (MoC) with UEM Lestra Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEM Group Berhad, to pilot Malaysia’s first Bilateral Energy Supply Contract (BESC) auction under the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS).

The duo said in a statement that under the collaboration, BCX will offer its auction-as-a-service (AaaS) solution to facilitate an open and competitive bidding process for renewable energy supply under the CRESS framework.

The auction seeks to enable transparent and efficient price discovery of solar electricity under the CRESS program, allowing participating corporates or potential offtakers to enter into BESC with UEM Lestra.

UEM Lestra, a key player in Malaysia’s energy transition is currently developing several large-scale hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, including the 1GW flagship project in Segamat, Johor.

Slated for commissioning in the first quarter of 2028, this project alone will generate more than 1,000,000 MWh of clean electricity annually, offsetting nearly 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions each year.

The first Malaysian BESC auction on BCX will allow interested parties to submit their bids for green electricity from UEM Lestra’s largescale hybrid solar PV projects based on their respective electricity demand.

In addition, the auction is expected to promote greater liquidity within BCX through the eventual clearing and settlement of renewable energy certificates (RECs) once UEM
Lestra’s solar PV projects achieve commercial operation.

CRESS is the Malaysian government’s recent initiative aimed at enhancing corporate companies’ access to green electricity supply via third-party access (TPA) to the grid in Peninsular Malaysia.

“The pilot auction further demonstrates the Exchange’s commitment to support Malaysia’s efforts in transitioning towards a more sustainable energy future, and is in line with BCX’s efforts to broaden its service offerings,” said Fad’l Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia.

“A key success factor for the pilot auction is securing credible offtakers through a transparent and competitive process. This is where BCX adds value, by applying our auction expertise to drive price discovery and match demand with supply,

“In enabling this, we support the Government’s goal of reforming the electricity market through more open and market-led mechanisms,” he added.

Harman Faiz Habib Muhamad, Chief Executive Officer of UEM Lestra, said this auction enables UEM Lestra to efficiently look for the best offers for our BESC.

“It marks a shift towards transparent price discovery among interested and qualified offtakers as well as help streamline their procurement and decision-making process,” he said.

According to him, this platform helps streamline the procurement and decision-making process for green energy off-takers.

“We also recognize that BCX meets our key criteria for operating a price discovery platform. It is credible, independent, and free from conflicts of interest, particularly in not competing within the same business space,

“Most importantly, this auction mechanism positions UEM Lestra to compete in a more dynamic and open electricity market, as we continue contributing toward Malaysia’s goal of achieving 70 percent installed renewable energy capacity by 2050,” he added.

The pilot auction is tentatively scheduled to be held in November 2025.

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