Blueleaf Energy and Universal Peak have reached financial close on a 100MW/400MWh battery energy storage system in northern Malaysia.
United Overseas Bank is the sole lender to the four-hour project, although neither the amount borrowed nor the total investment has been disclosed.
The lithium iron phosphate (LFP) facility will be built at Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah by BKHM BESS, a joint venture between Singapore-based Blueleaf and Malaysian power infrastructure company Universal Peak.
Construction will proceed under a build-own-operate model, with commercial operation scheduled for 30 April 2027. The project has a 15-year operating term.
Universal Peak said the two-hectare site would contain 88 liquid-cooled, 20-foot battery containers and 14 power conversion system and medium-voltage skid units. Power will be exported at 33kV and carried through a 1.2km underground cable to Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s 132/33/11kV Bukit Kayu Hitam substation.
The battery management system will be integrated with an energy management and supervisory control and data acquisition platform. Universal Peak said the design also incorporated multiple layers of fire protection and measures to manage thermal runaway.
The project is one of four selected under the Energy Commission of Malaysia’s inaugural Malaysia Battery Energy Storage System programme, known as MyBeST. The procurement attracted 28 bids and will result in 400MW/1,600MWh of grid-connected storage being installed across Peninsular Malaysia.
Each successful bidder proposed a different battery system supplier, allowing the commission to compare equipment performance under Malaysian grid and climatic conditions. Blueleaf and Universal Peak have not identified the supplier of the cells or complete battery system for the Bukit Kayu Hitam project.
BKHM signed a Battery Energy Storage System Service Agreement and a connection agreement with national utility Tenaga Nasional in June.
The service agreement establishes the commercial framework with TNB Single Buyer as the offtaker and sets requirements covering availability, dispatch and performance. The connection agreement addresses protection, metering, SCADA integration and operational coordination with the transmission network.
The system is intended to provide frequency regulation, peak shifting and system balancing while helping the grid accommodate additional solar generation.
Blueleaf CEO Raghuram Natarajan said: “Financial close of this project under the inaugural MyBeST programme marks a significant milestone for Blueleaf Energy and our partners, and demonstrates our ability to originate, finance and execute complex renewable energy infrastructure across Asia in a timely manner.
“This project together with our additional development pipeline in Malaysia reinforces Blueleaf Energy’s commitment to Malaysia’s energy transition, strengthening grid resilience and enabling greater integration of renewable energy.”
Blueleaf is owned by a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management. Universal Peak is both an investor in the project and its engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning partner.
Photo: (left to right, seated) Mr. Raghuram Natarajan (CEO, Blueleaf Energy), Mr. Frederick Chin (Head of Group Wholesale Banking and Markets, UOB), Datuk Ir. Raj Kumar R Gopal Pillai (CEO, Universal Peak); (left to right, standing) Mr. Anand Prakash (CIO, Blueleaf Energy), Ms. Yeo May-Teng (Executive Director, Global Financial Institutions Group, UOB), and Dr. Sujaysen Raj Kumar (Executive Director, Universal Peak).
