INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY
In Rural Malaysia, Local Communities Are Empowered to Develop and Maintain Renewable Power

Unjam Anak Makam and Maja Anak Mabang never imagined that they would play a role in bringing light to their villages in Sarawak, Malaysia. As graduates of a government certification training scheme after finishing their secondary schools, Unjam and Maja are some of the local youth who joined Ecogreen, one of the several companies assigned to develop solar plants under the framework of Sarawak Alternative Rural Electrification Scheme (SARES).

SARES is an initiative of the government of Sarawak, a Malaysian state in the eastern part of the country. Implemented by the state-owned company Sarawak Energy Berhad, SARES aims to electrify Sarawak's rural areas with renewable energy by engaging local communities.

Unjam's and Maja's first encounter with solar energy was during the construction of solar plants in their villages. Sarawak Energy Berhad appointed Ecogreen Solar Engineering as the contractor of the project, which then hired members of the surrounding community for the job. Unjam and Maja joined the team as project workers.

According to government estimates, meeting the country's targets of up to 70% of renewable energy by 2050 requires 62 000 skilled workers, but supply of these workers is short. To avoid a green economy skills gap, Malaysia's technical and vocational education and training system needs to integrate green skills into its curricula.

Unjam and Maja received on-the-job training after being certified by the government's vocational education programme. This is in line with the Malaysian government's effort to implement people-centric energy transition which focuses on workforce planning, green skilling, community resilience and energy literacy.

"I am grateful to be involved in the project. This is my first job experience after finishing my construction education with the government's Construction Industry Development Board programme. They provided training for new technicians like me, so I gained a lot of new skills and knowledge with this job," Maja said.

Initially, the project supervisor assigned Unjam and Maja to do regular work such as handling transportation of materials and laying cables. Because they showed good work performance, they were gradually trained to do electrical wiring and solar system installation. They also learned about battery technology through on-the-job training.

Since then, they have been employed as permanent staff of Ecogreen and involved in multiple SARES' solar projects across Sarawak. Both have also gone through formal training and are now certified in solar system installation. These days, Unjam and Maja are even able to assist in delivering basic solar system maintenance training to the community, contributing further in empowering the villagers to maintain the solar systems themselves.

IRENA's 2025 review of global renewable energy jobs highlights how Malaysia is an important player in the global solar PV industry. In the United States, Malaysia was ranked as the third-largest supplier in 2024, with about 7.6 GW of modules shipped, just behind Viet Nam and Thailand. The analysis shows that by 2024, the country's solar PV sector employed 45 900 people.

According to IRENA's recent report, Socio-economic impacts of the energy transition: Malaysia, the country's renewable energy jobs could reach 223 000 in 2030 and 396 000 in 2050. Both projections surpass those for fossil-related jobs at around 91 000 by 2050. Solar energy would represent roughly 57% of all renewable energy jobs (around 224 000 jobs) by 2050.

There is more to be done if Malaysia seeks to reap the socio-economic benefits of renewable technologies and specifically, solar PV. Out of its 337 GW solar PV potential, the country has only installed a cumulative 2.3 GW in 2024.

With a programme like SARES that seeks to encourage local participations, socio-economic benefits are more readily extended to rural communities. The installed solar power in Unjam' and Maja's villages have the capacity of around 12.5 kilowatt peak (kWp) and 13.8 kWp, respectively, electrifying around 25 households in total. Those capacities do not only mean livelihoods for the two youth but also represent positive change for their neighbours.

"Back in my school days, we used to study in the dark. Today, I am happy to see villagers experience lasting electricity, allowing children to study late in the evening and families to store food in the refrigerators. We can also save money since we do not have to buy fuels for diesel generators or kerosene lamps," said Maja. On his part, when asked about his hopes for his community, Unjam said "I hope to see more solar systems in other rural areas, creating jobs for villagers and improving their lives."

This article was originally published in August 2023 and updated in January 2026