Blueleaf Energy, the pan-Asian renewables platform owned by a Macquarie Asset Management fund, and Malaysian electrical infrastructure firm Universal Peak Sdn Bhd have reached financial close on a 100 MW/400 MWh battery energy storage project in Malaysia, with Singapore’s UOB providing the debt. The project, held through joint venture company BKHM BESS Sdn Bhd, was awarded under the Energy Commission’s MyBeST programme and is targeting commissioning in mid-2027 on a build, own and operate basis.
The financing was signed at Blueleaf’s offices in Singapore and announced on 2 September. It follows the consortium’s execution in June of a Battery Energy Storage Service Agreement and a Connection Agreement with Tenaga Nasional Berhad, which acts as the single buyer. The service agreement sets out the capacity and related services the plant will provide to support grid reliability, including system availability, dispatch commitments and performance obligations. The connection agreement defines the technical interface, covering interconnection compliance, protection systems, metering, SCADA integration and operational coordination with the grid.
MyBeST is overseen by the Energy Commission, Suruhanjaya Tenaga, and sits within the National Energy Transition Roadmap, which sets a net-zero target for 2050. The programme is intended to add flexibility to the grid ahead of the large solar volumes expected from the Large Scale Solar 6 tender, which pairs utility-scale PV with co-located storage. A four-hour battery of this size can shift daytime solar output into the evening peak and provide frequency and reserve services that a solar-heavy system will increasingly need.
Blueleaf has more than 1.3 GWp in operation or under construction and a development pipeline of over 13 GWp of generation and around 7 GWh of storage across Southeast Asia, India and Japan. Universal Peak brings local electrical infrastructure delivery experience to the venture. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Why does this matter?
Financial close turns Malaysia’s MyBeST storage programme from a tender result into a bankable asset class, with a regional lender providing debt against a project underpinned by a TNB service agreement. That precedent matters for other storage developers in Malaysia and for bidders preparing the storage component of the LSS6 solar-plus-storage tender.
What happens next?
Construction now proceeds towards commissioning in mid-2027. The Energy Commission is preparing the LSS6 tender, so equipment suppliers, EPC contractors and lenders will be watching whether the financing structure agreed here becomes the template for the next wave of Malaysian storage projects.
Sources: SolarQuarter: Blueleaf Energy and Universal Peak Reach Financial Close for 100 MW/400 MWh BESS Project in Malaysia; Blueleaf Energy: Blueleaf Energy & Universal Peak Consortium Secures Key Grid and Commercial Agreements for 400 MWh BESS Project