Biofuel sector in Malaysia: Challenges and future prospects

Abstract

The energy demands of the world and the eventual depletion of fossil fuel have urged the search for alternative fuel sources. The RandD on biofuels in Malaysia first commenced in 1980s, and since then it's commercialization has progressed at a very slow pace. with many uncertainties. In the last two decades, researchers and scientists have looked into identifying resources with immense potential for production of biofuel as a renewable, sustainable energy resource of the future, and palm oil and palm oil waste have remained the main sources for production of renewable energy for the last decades. Various policies and acts were put in place to assist Malaysia with the agenda of developing renewable energy sources as an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. This chapter attempts to compile the state of the renewable energy scenario in Malaysia, its potential, governmental involvement, challenges, and future prospects of the biofuel industry in Malaysia.