A consortium comprising Zelleco Engineering and Teknik Janakuasa (TJSB), a subsidiary of Malaysian power firm Malakoff, has secured a 21-year O&M contract with ZEC Solar for a 29MW(AC) solar PV project in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia.

The project was bagged in the first round of the Large Scale Solar (LSS) competitive tender issued by the Energy Commission (EC),

The TJSB-Zelleco Consortium will incorporate a special purpose O&M company to carry out its services and obligations under the agreement.

Malakoff chief executive YBhg Dato’ Ahmad Fuaad Kenali said: “Clearly, TJSB has been chosen due to its vast experience in operating and maintaining power generation facilities locally and abroad. TJSB currently operates & maintains six power plants in Malaysia and three overseas.”

“This agreement marks Malakoff’s first foray into the O&M of renewable energy assets and also means that our O&M business has now expanded to include both thermal, or conventional, and renewable energy power generation.”

Earlier this year, Malakoff signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Touch Meccanica Sdn Bhd to collaborate in the development of several renewable energy projects, particularly in large-scale solar PV and small hydro power plants in Pahang Darul Makmur.

Last December, the EC released the list of winning developers in its second LSS tender round, offering roughly 563MW(AC) of capacity.