Clean Energy
Masdar Signs PPA for 200-MW Floating Solar Project at Malaysia’s Chereh Dam
Project will create Southeast Asia’s largest floating solar facility, building on precedents that have de-risked reservoir-based floating solar at scale
Indonesia’s Cirata Floating Solar Farm, commissioned in 2023 on a hydropower reservoir, is a regional benchmark for utility-scale floating solar and a precedent for Masdar’s planned 200-MW Chereh Dam project in Malaysia, which would be Southeast Asia’s largest once completed.
Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy developer Masdar has signed a power purchase agreement to build a 200-MW floating solar project on Malaysia’s Chereh Dam, a development that would create Southeast Asia’s largest floating solar facility once completed.
The project marks Masdar’s first investment in Malaysia and will be developed by a consortium led by the company with local partners Citaglobal and Tiza Global. Power offtake will be secured through a long-term agreement with Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Malaysia’s state-owned electric utility, according to a late-December company announcement.
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Once completed, the Chereh Dam project in Pahang State will have a direct current capacity exceeding 300 MWp, equivalent to 200 MWac. The floating array will occupy roughly 950 acres of the reservoir surface and is expected to generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of more than 100,000 homes. Total project investment is estimated at $208 million.
“This milestone project, our largest floating solar development globally and our inaugural project in Malaysia,” Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said in a statement. He said the company plans to draw on its experience delivering utility-scale renewable projects worldwide.
The Chereh Dam plant was awarded through Malaysia’s Large Scale Solar Cycle 5+ competitive tender program, under which projects are ranked by price, with Masdar securing the lowest-cost bid in the floating solar category.
Masdar attributed the winning bid to its global supply chain partnerships and prior experience developing large floating solar facilities, including the 145-MW Cirata floating solar plant in West Java, Indonesia, which was commissioned in 2023 on a hydropower reservoir.
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Operational Precedents De-Risk Floating Solar at Utility Scale
That experience places the Malaysia project within a growing body of operational floating solar developments that have advanced the technology beyond pilot-scale deployment.
A locator map highlights Pahang State, where Masdar plans to develop a 200-MW floating solar project at Chereh Dam under a power purchase agreement that would create Southeast Asia’s largest floating solar facility once completed.
Map courtesy of Adobe Stock
Cirata established Southeast Asia’s first large, reservoir-based benchmark, demonstrating grid integration, anchoring systems and long-term operations at scale. In China, multiple floating solar plants exceeding 300 MWp have been built on reservoirs and former coal mining subsidence areas, providing additional performance and durability data at capacities comparable to Chereh.
Smaller but operationally influential projects have also helped define current engineering standards. Singapore’s 60-MWp Tengeh Reservoir floating solar plant, constructed on a drinking-water reservoir, has informed best practices for anchoring design, water-quality protection and maintenance access under strict regulatory constraints.
In Japan, the 13.7-MWp Yamakura Dam floating solar facility, in operation since 2018, has served as a reference point for corrosion management and storm-resilient mooring in typhoon-prone environments. Collectively, these projects have helped reduce risks associated with engineering, permitting, and financing for larger floating solar developments currently underway in Southeast Asia.
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Masdar said the Chereh project is the inaugural development under a broader 10-GW renewable energy roadmap agreement signed in 2023 with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority. The company is also advancing a feasibility study for a separate floating solar installation at the Murum Reservoir in Sarawak, in collaboration with Sarawak Energy and Gentari, which could further expand Malaysia’s renewable generation capacity.
Development of the Chereh Dam project will be financed through a non-recourse project finance structure with participation from international lenders, Masdar said, signaling market confidence in the project’s fundamentals.
Masdar said it has executed a site agreement with Pahang Water & Energy Resources, establishing reservoir access and coordination with state authorities through construction and operations.
The company said the floating solar system will deploy technology tailored to the dam’s geometry and operating conditions to optimize performance, resilience and long-term efficiency.
Malaysia has targeted raising renewables to 35% of its national power generation mix by 2030 under its National Energy Transition Roadmap, with floating solar expected to play a key role as suitable land for large ground-mounted projects becomes more constrained.
Bryan Gottlieb is the online editor at Engineering News-Record (ENR).
Gottlieb is a five-time Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism award winner with more than a decade of experience covering business, construction and community issues, including finance, law and real estate. He has reported for Adweek and the San Diego Daily Transcript and led a community newsroom in Santa Monica, Calif. He served as editor-in-chief of the Detroit Metro Times and as managing editor at Roofing Contractor, where he helped shape national industry coverage. At Engineering News-Record, Gottlieb covers breaking news, large-scale infrastructure and megaprojects, regulatory developments and business trends across the U.S. and global construction sectors.
email: gottliebb@enr.com | office: (248) 786-1591
