Thursday, 20 August 2026

Malaysian energy regulator Suruhanjaya Tenaga has issued new guidelines setting out installation requirements for residential rooftop solar under the NEM Rakyat and NEM GoMEn net metering schemes in Peninsular Malaysia, according to pv magazine.

The two schemes sit at opposite ends of the size range. Under NEM Rakyat, capacity is capped at 5 kWac for single-phase residential connections and 12.5 kWac for three-phase connections, pv magazine reported. NEM GoMEn permits systems as large as 1,000 kW, subject to technical and network limitations.

The crediting mechanism is unchanged in structure. Electricity exported to the TNB grid is offset against consumption on a 1:1 basis, and unused credits can be carried forward for up to 12 months, per pv magazine. Each NEM arrangement runs for 10 years.

Uptake across both programs stands at roughly 1.7 GW of operating PV capacity, with a further 595 MW under development, the Malaysian government said, as reported by pv magazine.

That installed base is measured against the quota fixed when the current phase of the programme opened. NEM 3.0 launched in December 2020 with a total quota of 2.5 GW, according to pv magazine. The operating and pipeline volumes together account for the bulk of that allocation, leaving a narrowing headroom for new applicants under the existing ceiling.

The capacity thresholds define who falls into which track. Households on standard single-phase supply are held to the 5 kWac limit, while three-phase premises can install two and a half times as much under the same scheme. The 1,000 kW ceiling under NEM GoMEn places that track well outside typical household demand, with network constraints as the binding condition rather than a fixed rating.

US President Donald Trump threatened to widen economic pressure to bring the war in Iran to an end, telling countries that trade with Tehran they would face severe consequences, according to Semafor.

The warning follows a decision by the UAE, which said this week it would sever economic ties with Iran, Semafor reported.

Semafor identified Dubai as central to enforcing the US squeeze, describing it as a hub for Iranian trade and finance. That role places the emirate's banking and trading channels at the point where any broader restriction on third-country commerce with Tehran would bite first.

The threat extends the pressure campaign beyond Iran itself to the counterparties that keep its trade and payment flows moving.

The U.S. Department of Energy selected seven projects for USD 500 million to expand critical mineral and material processing, battery manufacturing, and recycling capacity in the United States.

The award was announced by DOE's Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), according to the department's statement.

DOE described the package as the third round of funding from its Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing and Recycling programs, which back materials processing, recycling, and manufacturing work.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said President Trump is securing critical supply chains and bringing critical materials production and processing back to the United States.

A marine drone spotted a few hundred metres from the Black Sea gas project Neptun Deep was destroyed by Romanian F-16 fighter jets, Defence Minister Radu Miruta said, in an account reported by Offshore Engineer OEDigital. Romania's president, Nicusor Dan, pointed to Russia as responsible.

It was the second such operation near the field in the same month. Army divers had already dealt with a pair of Gerbera-type drones adrift inside the exclusive economic zone close to the offshore site, the outlet reported.

Ownership of Neptun Deep is split between OMV Petrom and Romgaz, the state gas producer. Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported that the field, once producing in 2027, is expected to lift Romania to the position of largest gas producer in the European Union.

Mine clearance work continues across the wider basin. Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, all NATO members, have between them neutralised more than 150 mines that drifted into Black Sea trade lanes, according to the same report.