The gas-fired Edra Melaka Power Plant (EMPP) in Malaysia built by China General Nuclear Power Corp Photo: CGN

 
 The 2.24-gigawatt (GW) gas-fired Edra Melaka Power Plant (EMPP) in Malaysia, which was built by China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN) and is the largest gas power plant with low-carbon combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) in Southeast Asia, started commercial operation on Thursday.

The plant is capable of providing about 12 percent of the total electricity demand in Peninsular Malaysia, providing clean, stable power to four million households in the country, said CGN.

The plant will generate approximately 19.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually in the next 21 years.

With a total installed capacity of 2.242 GW, the EMPP power plant uses the world's most advanced and efficient gas turbine technology and is equipped with CCGT units. It is able to achieve efficiency of over 60 percent in electricity production.

The EMPP power plant is a key project in the Peninsular Malaysia Generation Development Plan (2021 - 2039). The plan will monitor the progress of the implementation of transmission projects and support the Malaysian government's target to achieve 31 percent renewable energy capacity by 2025, according to the Energy Commission of Malaysia.

The EMPP plant was constructed and is operated by Edra Power Holdings, a subsidiary of CGN. Construction started in December 2017.

During the construction of the EMPP power plant, CGN Edra created more than 2,500 local jobs. It provided expertise and knowledge transfer for local industry and community development, and provided equipment procurement and technical contracts for subcontractors and suppliers in Malaysia, according to CGN.

The project site lies approximately 90 kilometers to the southeast of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, NS Energy Business reported.