KUALA LUMPUR, 28 April 2026 — The ASEAN flagship edition of the R.A.C.E to Zero clean energy summit opens today at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, convening more than 2,000 attendees and 80-plus speakers from over ten countries for a two-day programme of policy, investment and market-facing sessions. The summit is organised by the Malaysian Photovoltaic & Sustainable Energy Industry Association (MPSEA), and The C0_Lab, and supported by the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA). It coincides with MPSEA’s 20th anniversary.
A changed frame: from climate commitment to energy security
The Summit opens at a moment when the language around clean energy has decisively shifted in Malaysia and the region. Across Cabinet, the race to renewables is being reframed — no longer a matter of emissions alone, but of energy security, industrial competitiveness and long-term economic sovereignty.
With ASEAN electricity demand rising 4–5% per year, and AI and hyperscaler load reshaping the grid, renewables are increasingly understood as the most sovereign option on the system — domestically deployable, price-stable, and no longer the most expensive megawatt. Malaysia’s NETR targets 70% renewable installed capacity by 2050, with up to 2 GW of new RE added annually.
“For our members, the commercial case has fully converged with the national interest case,” said Ir. Justin Sim (D.S.M), President of MPSEA. “Twenty years ago, MPSEA was a small group of solar pioneers. Today we are convening ministers, utilities, multilateral financiers and hyperscalers around a single proposition: Malaysia can lead ASEAN’s clean energy transition, and we intend to.”
Malaysian and ASEAN perspectives under one roof
R.A.C.E to Zero 2026 convenes Malaysian and regional leadership at a scale the summit has not previously assembled. Speakers include senior representatives from PETRA, SEDA Malaysia, Single Buyer, Energy Commission Sabah and MEESty — alongside the region’s industry and policy architecture: the Global Solar Council, the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA), the Philippine Solar & Storage Energy Alliance (PSSEA), the Future Energy Storage & System Integration Alliance (FESSIA), the Asia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy.
“ASEAN’s energy transition is fundamentally a regional project,” said Mel Shah, Chief Executive Officer of The C0_Lab and co-organiser of R.A.C.E to Zero. “You cannot decarbonise a data centre in Johor, a grid in Sarawak and a cross-border interconnection with Singapore as isolated problems. We built this summit and accompanying exhibition to put the region’s policy architects, capital allocators and project developers in one room — because that is how the ASEAN Power Grid and a real cross-border clean energy market actually get built.”
The regional agenda includes country deep-dives on Thailand and the Philippines, sessions on ASEAN green finance corridors and renewable energy certificate harmonisation, and a dedicated track on ENEGEM and cross-border green electricity trade — building on Malaysia’s 100 MW renewable energy export arrangement to Singapore as a proof point for regional readiness.
Connecting policy, new investment and market signals
The programme is built to connect three conversations that too often run on parallel tracks — government direction, capital flows, and “live” market trends. Across 15 keynotes and 10 panels over two days:
Policy and regulation is anchored by Ministerial Keynotes on Days 1 and 2, a Leadership Roundtable on procurement reform, RE integration and the demand-side implications of hyperscaler and semiconductor investment.
New investment is addressed through strategic advisory perspectives from Roland Berger, Boston Consulting Group, Bloomberg, Ernst and Young and Deloitte, and financing sessions with IFC, ADB, AIIB- and World Bank on the USD 500 billion-plus infrastructure requirement ASEAN faces by 2030.
Market signals are delivered by clean energy leaders including Solarvest, Malakoff, Leader Energy, global association heads — including Rita Ren (Global Solar Council), Madam Tetchi Capellan (APVIA), Ping Mendoza (PSSEA) — and a two-day exhibition with a range of cutting edge solutions across solar, storage, EV, grid technology and green financing.
R.A.C.E to Zero 2026 continues across Malaysia through the year, with subsequent editions in Johor (16 June), Penang (13 August), Kuching Sarawak (8 September), Kota Kinabalu Sabah (10 September), and CETA at MITEC (4–5 November).
This press release has also been published on VRITIMES
