Not yet viable under current policy

CREAM could put solar on thousands of Malaysian rooftops. Right now, the numbers don't work.

We built and stress-tested the financial model behind the Community Renewable Energy Aggregation Mechanism. Under today's settings, it doesn't pencil out for investors — but a few achievable policy changes could fix that. Add your voice to help make the case.

CREAM is not yet operating in Malaysia. This site is a campaign, not a live programme — it exists to build a public, transparent case for the regulatory changes needed to make CREAM bankable. Every voice added to it strengthens that case.

Why solar, why CREAM

Malaysia's electricity generation still relies heavily on coal and gas. Rooftop solar aggregated through CREAM is one of the fastest ways to change that — without needing new land, and without every homeowner having to become their own solar developer.

Reduce carbon emissions

Every rooftop using CREAM will reduce the need for electricity from coal or gas — new solar capacity that measurably reduces the emission intensity of power generation in Malaysia.

Energy security

More electricity generated locally means less exposure to imported gas prices and global supply shocks.

Value, shared fairly

Homeowners earn rooftop income, nearby consumers get green power, and renewable energy companies get a viable business — if the economics are fixed.

people and organisations have added their voice in support of CREAM policy reform
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Three ways to help

1

Add your voice

Tell us you're in — as a future homeowner, investor, or just someone who wants this to exist.

2

Explain your interest

Answer a few quick questions on your rooftop, your role, or your organisation — this is what makes the case concrete.

3

Share it

Send it to one other person who'd want this too. The bigger the number, the stronger the ask.

How CREAM works

CREAM — the Community Renewable Energy Aggregation Mechanism — lets an operator (a LEGA) lease unused rooftops, install solar, and sell the electricity directly to nearby consumers (LGCs) within roughly 5km, or export it to the grid.

Homeownerleases unused rooftop
LEGAinstalls & operates solar
LGCbuys green power locally
Grid (NEDA)buys any surplus
Cover of the Energy Commission's Guidelines for Community Renewable Energy Aggregation Mechanism (CREAM) Read the official guideline →
↓ Skip straight to the return calculator

Steady additional income

Homeowners who aren't ready to install their own solar yet can still put their rooftop space to use — leasing it out to a LEGA for a steady stream of extra income, at no cost or effort of their own.

No land needed, revenue from sales

The LEGA doesn't need to own land or buildings — it leases existing rooftops, installs and operates the panels, and keeps full control of the system, avoiding the need to clear land or convert farmland into solar farms. Electricity sold to nearby consumers under bilateral contracts, or exported to the grid under NEDA, gives it a steady, contracted income stream.

Decarbonise beyond your own rooftop

Many businesses have already installed solar on every usable part of their own roof but still need more clean power to hit decarbonisation targets. As an LGC, they can buy additional green electricity directly from a nearby CREAM plant — no more panels, land, or capex of their own required.

What a 5km radius actually looks like

We picked one real point — Kampung Jalan Kebun, where we've already started engaging residents — rather than a hypothetical; the pattern below would look similar around plenty of townships in Peninsular Malaysia. Shaded on the map are three confirmed light-industrial estates within the radius: Techno Industrial Park, Berjaya Industrial Park, and Bukit Kemuning Industrial Park (which also covers the separately-named Alpine Industrial Park, Seksyen 34). Potential LGCs, in other words, aren't a stretch to find within 5km — they're already there.

What could a LEGA's return look like?

This is a simplified, public version of the full financial model behind CREAM. Move the sliders to see how the numbers respond to policy settings.

Illustrative investor return

Based on a simplified version of our open-source model

Illustrative only
0.0%
Equity IRR
1.23x
Average DSCR
Never
Payback
At today's settings, this doesn't clear a typical lender's minimum coverage ratio — which is exactly the gap we're asking policymakers to close.

Notice the pattern: pushing these three levers to work better for investors usually means a worse deal for consumers, homeowners, or both — that tension is real, not a model quirk. If a fair balance between all three still doesn't clear a bankable return, a CAPEX grant is one way to close the remaining gap. Realistically, though, a developer having to rely on a grant to make a project pencil out at all is itself a sign the underlying economics need fixing — so if the policy changes we're asking for don't happen, a grant becomes the only way to make CREAM bankable at all, and that's a last resort, not the ask.

Figures shown here are simplified, illustrative placeholders — not the real model's output. The real model, with full sensitivity across all scenarios, is open source and linked in Resources.

Frequently asked questions

Transparency first

We ran the numbers. Here's what needs to change.

We built a full financial model for CREAM and stress-tested it against realistic scenarios. Under current policy settings, the mechanism does not produce a bankable return for operators. That's not a reason to give up on it — it's a specific, fixable list.

Barrier 1

No long-term certainty on the Community Access Charge (CAC)

The CAC is only locked in for 3 years at a time, capped at a 15% revision each cycle (CREAM guideline clause 13.3). That leaves lenders unable to underwrite a stable cost base over a 20+ year asset life.

Today
Re-fixed every 3 years, ±15% cap
Our ask
Lock in the rate at signing, for the life of the contract
Barrier 2

Capacity and network charges double-charge for what CAC already covers

The guideline itself defines the CAC as recovering the cost of network infrastructure used to deliver CREAM electricity (clause 13.1). Yet operators still pay the standard capacity and network charges — around 17 sen/kWh combined — on top of the CAC they already pay for that same purpose. Our modelling shows removing this duplicate charge, alongside a realistic tariff, is enough on its own to reach a bankable return with no CAPEX grant at all.

Today
Full capacity + network charges apply on top of CAC (~17 sen/kWh)
Our ask
Clarify CAC already covers this, so it isn't charged twice
Barrier 3

Some implementation details are still being worked out

A handful of operational details that affect bankability haven't been finalised yet. For example, every LCSP needs a Power System Study from TNB before it can register (guideline Appendix 2), but a maximum turnaround time for that study hasn't been set. A similar pattern shows up elsewhere: decommissioning technical standards default to "prudent industry practice" where no guideline exists yet (clause 14.2), and both the NEDA export rate and the required application documents are still to be determined by the Commission (clauses 9.7, 15.4). None of these is a big deal on its own, but together they make it harder for developers and lenders to price project risk with confidence upfront.

Today
Multiple items (e.g. PSS turnaround) still to be determined, case by case
Our ask
Publish binding implementation guidelines for each open item, starting with a statutory PSS turnaround time
Barrier 4

Little public awareness that CREAM is an option

Most homeowners have never heard that leasing their rooftop for community solar is even possible, let alone how to participate — and the guideline places no responsibility on any party to build that awareness. A mechanism that depends on aggregating many individual rooftops can't scale if the people who own those rooftops don't know it exists.

Today
No stakeholder outreach or public awareness programme tied to CREAM
Our ask
A funded socialisation and awareness campaign ahead of and alongside rollout

A CAPEX grant can also help close a remaining gap — but our modelling shows it's not the fix: the base case can't reach a bankable return through a grant alone — even a 62% CAPEX grant isn't enough — and above roughly 66% the grant exceeds what the project needs at all, since debt plus grant would then cover more than the full capital cost — while fixing the barriers above gets there with none at all. Treat a grant as a last resort, not the ask.

Open source
Every number above comes from a public, auditable model — not a claim you have to take on faith.

Resources and templates

CREAM is more complex to set up than a typical solar deal. We're publishing everything we've built so future LEGAs, policymakers, and researchers don't have to start from scratch — and so our policy case is fully checkable.

Everything above is a starting point, not a finished, ready-to-use deliverable. The financial model relies on stated assumptions you'll need to verify for your own project; the legal and engagement materials are sample drafts to adapt, not legal, financial, tax, or regulatory advice.

The financial model, legal contract template, and community engagement materials published on this page were prepared by LASAJU as part of our feasibility study on CREAM projects in Malaysia, and are made available to the public for informational and educational purposes only. None of these materials are final, binding, or ready to use as-is.

The financial model is built on stated assumptions and confidence levels (see the model's "How to Use This Model" sheet) that will differ for any real project and must be independently verified. The legal contract template is a sample draft, not a final or binding agreement. The community engagement materials are illustrative communications, not reviewed or endorsed by any regulator.

Nothing here is legal, financial, tax, technical or regulatory advice, and accessing or using these materials does not create any engagement, professional or advisory relationship with LASAJU, nor constitute advice tailored to any specific project or party.

All materials are provided "as is" without warranty of accuracy, completeness, currency or enforceability. Applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and CREAM requirements may change from time to time. Anyone who uses, adapts, or relies on them does so entirely at their own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, LASAJU shall not be liable for any loss or liability arising from the use of or reliance on these materials.

Before entering into any binding agreement, financing decision, or public communication based on these materials, obtain independent legal advice from a qualified legal, financial, or other relevant professional advisers to review and adapt them to your specific circumstances.

CREAM needs your voice

This isn't a sign-up for a live programme — it's a public signal to policymakers that Malaysians want CREAM to work. Every voice added makes the case stronger.

Homeowner
Investor / LEGA
Other

By submitting, you agree to our privacy policy.

supporters so far
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What happens next

1

A few quick questions on your rooftop or your interest — this is what makes the case concrete to policymakers.

2

We add you to the public supporter count — no obligation, no payment, nothing to install.

3

If CREAM becomes viable, supporters are the first to hear — and the first LEGAs can reach out directly.

What scale could unlock

Illustrative only — based on rough system sizing per supporter, not the full model.

~40 MWp
potential rooftop capacity at 4,500 supporters
~28,000 t
CO2 avoided per year
~9,000
homes' worth of clean power

Who's behind this

Our mission

This project is built and published by LASAJU Consulting, a boutique sustainability consulting firm based in Kuala Lumpur. We're excited about and support CREAM because we believe it's meaningfully more sustainable than mechanisms that require new land area, and because it channels real financial support directly to lower-income communities through rooftop leasing income. We started this project believing CREAM could work as designed; having built and stress-tested the full financial model, we now believe it's a good mechanism that current settings simply don't support yet — so we're campaigning for the specific changes that would fix that, and publishing everything we know along the way!

Contact us

By submitting, you agree to our privacy policy.

Privacy policy

Effective date: 8 September 2026. Last reviewed: 8 September 2026. This explains what personal data this site collects, why, and what your rights are under Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA).

Who we are

This site (semuasolar.com) is operated by LASAJU Consulting Sdn Bhd (Registration No. 201401037482 (1113627-U)), a sustainability consulting firm based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For the purposes of the PDPA, LASAJU Consulting is the data user responsible for the personal data described below.

Where we collect it from

We gather your personal data from the two forms on this site: the Add your voice pledge form, and the Contact us form. We do not collect it from any other source.

What we collect

We may collect personal data directly from you from time to time, only when you choose to submit one of those two forms.

Add your voice (pledge form)

Required: your role (homeowner, investor/LEGA, or other), full name, and email address.

Optional: your state, rooftop details, and/or organisation name. You may choose whether to provide these, and you can still submit the form if you don't.

Contact us form

Required: your full name, email address, and message.

In both cases we also automatically log the IP address your submission came from, for spam and abuse prevention. Both forms include a hidden field that real visitors never see or fill in — this is a standard anti-bot measure, not something we use to identify you.

Why we collect it, and what we do with it

Pledge form data is collected to: (1) include you in the aggregate number of public supporters displayed on this site, without displaying your individual details; (2) contact you if CREAM's policy settings change and the initiative becomes viable; and (3) where applicable, facilitate contact between homeowner supporters and a LEGA operator, as described on the pledge page.

Contact form data is collected to receive and respond to your enquiries. It is stored in our database and also sent by email to our team inbox so we can reply.

We will only use the personal data collected for the purposes stated above and for purposes reasonably related to them. We do not use your data for advertising, and we don't run any third-party analytics or advertising trackers on this site.

You may choose not to provide your personal data. However, certain personal data is required for us to carry out the purposes above. If you choose not to provide it, we may be unable to: (a) record or process your pledge, or include you in the aggregate supporter count; (b) contact you if CREAM's policy settings change and the initiative becomes viable; (c) facilitate contact between you and a LEGA operator, where applicable; or (d) respond to your enquiry, or provide the information you requested.

Disclosure of your personal data

If you pledge as a homeowner and CREAM becomes viable, we may disclose and share your contact details with a LEGA operator so that they can reach out about your rooftop. We do not otherwise disclose your personal data to third parties.

Where it is stored, and who can access it

Form submissions are stored securely in an access-restricted database hosted on secure servers managed by our hosting service provider. Your personal information is not publicly accessible. Access is strictly limited to authorized LASAJU Consulting personnel and trusted infrastructure providers who are bound by confidentiality and security obligations to support our web operations. We do not sell, rent, or trade your data to third parties. The one exception is described above: if you pledge as a homeowner and CREAM becomes viable, your contact details may be shared with a LEGA operator so they can reach out about your rooftop.

How long we keep it

We retain your personal data for as long as this campaign is active and your data remains relevant to the purposes above, or until you request its deletion — whichever occurs earlier.

Where the campaign ends, or the personal data is no longer required for those purposes, we will securely destroy and permanently delete the personal data provided, unless we are required or permitted by law to retain it for a longer period.

Your rights

1. Choose whether to provide your personal data. Providing your personal data is entirely voluntary. However, we require your name and email address to record your pledge and/or respond to your message.

2. Access your personal data. You may access the personal data in our possession. However, we may refuse to comply with an access request if: we are not supplied with information to satisfy ourselves as to the identity of the requestor; we are not provided with sufficient information to locate the personal data requested; the expense of providing access is disproportionate to the risks to your privacy; complying would require us to disclose personal data relating to another identifiable individual without that individual's consent; another data user controls the processing of the relevant personal data in a manner that prevents us from complying; providing access would constitute a violation of an order of a court; providing access would disclose confidential commercial information; or such access is regulated by another law.

3. Correct your personal data. You may request a correction or update of your personal data if it is inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or outdated. However, we may refuse to comply with a correction request if: we are not supplied with information to satisfy ourselves as to the identity of the requestor; insufficient information is provided to identify the alleged error; we are not satisfied that the personal data is inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or outdated; the proposed correction is not accurate, complete or up to date; or another data user controls the data in a way that prevents us from complying.

4. Withdraw your consent. Where the processing of your personal data is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time and at no cost, by providing us with written notice.

5. Request deletion. You may request that we delete your personal data at any time and at no cost, subject to regulatory requirements.

6. Data portability. You may request that your personal data be transmitted to another data controller of your choice, subject to the requirements and conditions under the PDPA, including technical feasibility and compatibility of the data format.

To exercise any of these rights, email ai_domains@lasaju.com. Please also help us by ensuring the personal data you provide is accurate, complete and up to date.

Security and protection of your personal data

LASAJU Consulting is committed to taking reasonable steps to secure and protect your personal data from loss, misuse, modification, unauthorised or accidental access or disclosure, alteration or destruction, in accordance with the PDPA.

Access to personal data is limited to authorised parties who require such access for the purposes stated in this policy. We also take reasonable steps to ensure that any persons handling personal data are reliable, competent and appropriately authorised.

Data integrity

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal data we hold is accurate, complete, not misleading and kept up to date, having regard to the purposes for which it was collected and processed.

If you become aware that any personal data we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or outdated, you may contact us to request that it be corrected or updated, except where such a request may be refused under the PDPA.

While we take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect your personal data, please be aware that we cannot guarantee it will be completely protected from all cyber threats or unauthorised access.

Contact us

You may contact us, or submit an enquiry regarding the processing of your personal data, at ai_domains@lasaju.com.

Changes to this policy

This policy may be revised, amended or updated from time to time. If we change how we handle personal data, we will update this page and revise the date at the top, and notice of the revision will be given on this website. By continuing to use this site after any amendment or update, you indicate your acceptance of it.

Language

In the event of any inconsistency between the English version and the Bahasa Malaysia version of this policy, the English version shall prevail.

This policy is provided for transparency and isn't a substitute for legal advice. If you have specific compliance questions, LASAJU Consulting's legal advisor on this project is Shu Pin & Associates.