Masdar Wins Landmark PPA to Build Southeast Asia’s Largest Floating Solar Plant in Malaysia

Masdar has secured a major foothold in Southeast Asia’s clean energy market after signing a power purchase agreement for a 200 megawatt floating solar project at the Chereh Dam in Malaysia’s Pahang state. The agreement, valued at more than $208 million, positions the Abu Dhabi based developer at the center of Malaysia’s renewable expansion and marks its first utility scale project in the country. Once operational, the project is expected to supply clean electricity to more than 100,000 homes and become the largest floating solar installation in the region. The PPA was signed with Tenaga Nasional Berhad under Malaysia’s Large Scale Solar Cycle 5+ program, a competitive tender designed to accelerate renewable deployment while lowering generation costs. By securing the lowest tariff in the floating solar category, the Masdar led consortium demonstrated both cost competitiveness and technical maturity in a segment that is gaining strategic importance across land constrained markets in Asia.

 

The Chereh Dam project represents a decisive entry for Masdar into Malaysia’s power sector at a time when the country is pushing to raise the share of renewables in its energy mix to 35 percent by 2030. Floating solar has been identified as a priority solution within this transition, allowing large scale capacity additions without competing for scarce land resources. Spanning approximately 950 acres of water surface, the installation will deliver over 300 megawatts peak of installed capacity, translating to 200 megawatts of alternating current output. The project will be developed by a consortium that brings together Masdar’s global development experience with local partners Citaglobal and Tiza Global, creating a delivery model that blends international capital and technology with domestic execution capability.

 

Winning the LSS Cycle 5+ tender at the lowest tariff level underscores Masdar’s ability to leverage global supply chain relationships and project delivery experience to remain cost efficient in competitive markets. For Malaysia, the outcome reinforces the credibility of its auction framework in attracting high quality international developers while delivering affordable clean power. Local participation plays a central role in the project’s structure. Citaglobal’s involvement anchors the development within Malaysia’s institutional and regulatory landscape, while Tiza Global contributes domestic market expertise. This alignment is designed to ensure that the project is integrated into national energy planning rather than treated as a standalone asset.

 

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Masdar’s leadership has framed the Chereh Dam project as both a strategic and symbolic milestone. Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, described the development as the company’s largest floating solar project globally and its inaugural investment in Malaysia. He emphasized that Masdar’s experience in delivering utility scale renewable projects worldwide positions it to support Malaysia’s ambition for affordable, reliable clean energy. From the Malaysian partner perspective, Citaglobal highlighted the project’s role in strengthening long term energy security and economic resilience. The collaboration reflects a broader approach in which international developers and domestic firms jointly deliver infrastructure aligned with national transition goals.

 

The project will be financed through a non recourse project finance structure with participation from international lenders, signaling strong confidence in both the asset fundamentals and Malaysia’s regulatory environment. Access to global financing on this basis highlights the increasing bankability of floating solar at scale. On the technical side, the plant will deploy floating photovoltaic systems designed to maximize performance through natural cooling effects while also reducing water evaporation from the reservoir. These features are particularly valuable in climate exposed regions where water management and energy generation are closely linked. The engineering design has been tailored to the physical characteristics and operating conditions of the Chereh Dam to support long term durability and operational efficiency.

 

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Chereh is not an isolated investment but the first project under a broader 10 gigawatt renewable energy roadmap agreed between Masdar and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority in 2023. As part of this pipeline, Masdar is also advancing a feasibility study for another large floating solar project at the Murum reservoir in Sarawak, in partnership with Sarawak Energy and Gentari. That initiative would align with Malaysia’s National Energy Transition Roadmap and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030. Local integration remains a defining feature of Masdar’s approach. Agreements such as the site arrangement with Pahang Water and Energy Resources are structured to ensure continuity from development through operations, positioning the Chereh asset as long term national infrastructure rather than a short cycle power project.

 

For policymakers and utilities across Southeast Asia, the Chereh Dam PPA illustrates how floating solar can move beyond pilot deployments to become a system scale solution contributing meaningfully to national energy targets. For investors, it demonstrates that well structured floating solar projects in stable regulatory environments can attract international capital at competitive terms. For Masdar, the deal strengthens a global portfolio that already spans more than 40 countries and advances its objective of reaching 100 gigawatts of clean energy capacity by 2030. It also reinforces Southeast Asia’s role as a key growth market in the global energy transition, where innovative deployment models such as floating solar are set to play an increasingly central role.

 

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