The I-TRACK Foundation is pleased to announce that Malaysia has been approved for I-TRACK(G) issuance following the successful completion of the country assessment report.
The assessment confirms that Malaysia meets the requirements of the International Attribute Tracking Standard (Standard) and the I-TRACK for Biogas and Biomethane Product Code (I-TRACK(G) Code). The report identified no regulatory, legal, or policy barriers to the implementation of an attribute tracking system for biogas and biomethane or to the issuance of I-TRACK for Biogas and Biomethane certificates (I-TRACK(G)) within the country.
Malaysia has been approved for I-REC(E) / I-TRACK(E) issuance since 2022, and the country has an established voluntary environmental attribute certificate market. The approval of I-TRACK(G) reflects continued engagement between the I-TRACK Foundation, government stakeholders, and market participants, and extends international attribute tracking to Malaysia’s growing biogas and biomethane sector.
GCC as I-TRACK(G) Issuer in Malaysia
The Green Certificate Company (GCC) has been appointed as the I-TRACK(G) Issuer for Malaysia. GCC will oversee the registration and certification of biogas and biomethane production facilities, ensuring compliance with the Standard and the I-TRACK(G) Code.
Malaysia
Malaysia has traditionally been a producer and exporter of oil and natural gas, with large reserves spread across the offshore waters of Peninsular Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak. The country has existing gas infrastructure interconnected to Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as LNG export facilities serving overseas markets.
The biomethane industry in Malaysia remains relatively niche; however, there has been increasing interest, especially from palm oil mills, to produce biomethane in recent years. Malaysia’s first commercial biomethane plant commenced operation in Peninsular Malaysia in October 2015, using Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) as a feedstock and producing Bio-CNG as the final output. By the end of 2024, Malaysia had four commercial biomethane plants in operation, with production through both Bio-CNG and grid-injected biomethane pathways.
The biogas industry in Malaysia has developed since 2016, driven primarily by requirements to digest Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) and through the introduction of feed-in tariffs for electricity generated from renewable resources, including biogas. In 2023, Malaysia had 80 plants with approximately 155 MWe of total installed biogas power capacity under the feed-in tariff scheme, with most production coming from anaerobic digestion of POME and landfill gas.
At present, there are no specific national regulations covering the environmental attributes of biogas or biomethane in Malaysia, and no national biomethane certificate registry is in place. However, Malaysia has an established market for environmental attribute certificates, with voluntary standards such as I-REC(E), Verra, Gold Standard, and ISCC operating in the country.
The Malaysian market is increasingly familiar with environmental attribute certificates. Existing market initiatives, including the Green Electricity Tariff (GET) programme and the issuance of Malaysia Renewable Energy Certificates (mREC) through the I-REC(E) system, demonstrate how local market initiatives can leverage established international standards to support transparent environmental attribute tracking.
The government of Malaysia, largely through the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) and the Energy Commission (ST), is engaged in monitoring and overseeing the implementation of voluntary environmental attribute certificate markets in Malaysia. Engagement between government entities, independent standards, and market actors has supported the development of approaches that align voluntary certificate systems with national priorities.
The introduction of I-TRACK(G) in Malaysia will enable the credible tracking and transfer of environmental attributes associated with biogas and biomethane production. The system will provide additional traceability for market participants while supporting Malaysia’s evolving renewable energy and energy transition objectives.
The I-TRACK Foundation welcomes Malaysia to the I-TRACK(G) community and looks forward to supporting market participants and stakeholders as the biogas and biomethane attribute tracking market develops.