KOTA KINABALU: Green energy is a potential alternative for Sabah’s power needs but is not yet viable.
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) said that it was keen to develop green energy but at the moment, there was no effective options other than setting up a 300MW coal plant in Tungku to meet the electricity needs in the state’s east coast.
“We are not against the development of green energy but there is no matured system that can meet our needs to provide stable power supply and reserve in the east coast of Sabah,” said managing director Baharin Din said at a luncheon with state Science Adviser Datuk Mohd Salleh Said and the media here on Monday.
He said SESB had studied the options of biomass, wind and solar but the technologies available for these alternative options were too expensive to implement and the base loads requirement of 300MW for the east coast was too small.
He said the power company had already committed to buy power from renewable sources of energy amounting to 102MW, with some 40MW already connected to its grid.
“One of the biomass energy companies in Kunak is faring well but two others in Sandakan break down often due to lack of biomass raw materials. The materials consist of oil palm branches that have been harvested,” he said.
Baharin said the studies done by environmental group Green Surf on alternatives to coal energy was “good in theory but not practical for the east coast that depends on power from the state’s west coast through a grid.
“Maybe in 10 years, the options of tapping green energy will be easily available, but for now we need the security derived from setting up a base in the east coast,” he said.
He added that the Lahad Datu Energy Sdn Bhd, which was developing the coal plant, was expected to submit the detailed Environmental Impact Assessment report to the Environment Department for the proposed plant by early May at the latest.
Salleh said the state would wait for the DOE report on the issue as both the electricity needs of the people and the environmental issues needed to be weighed carefully.
He called on the people to understand the rationale behind the Federal Government’s proposal to build a coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu.
The former chief minister cautioned the people against politicising the issue, saying the proposed plant provided among the best solutions for the state’s power woes.
“The government, through SESB, is determined to resolve the state’s electricity supply problems.
“SESB has formulated short-term and long-term strategies, including the proposal for the coal-fired power plant, to enhance its power generation capacity, so I hope the people can understand the real situation,” he said.
Salleh, who was appointed to the ministerial-level post in January, was asked to comment on the objection voiced by individuals and non-governmental organisations to the proposed power plant.
He said the government would take into account all views, including the EIA report, before implementing the project.
“We will not bulldoze the project through,” he assured.
Meanwhile, Baharin said the project could be completed in three years.
The first unit of the project could supply 75MW of power, he said.
“Coal supply is not a problem as we can source it from Kalimantan, Indonesia,” he said, adding that the generation capacity in Sabah’s east coast at the moment was 220MW with demand expected to increase to 400MW in 2017.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced in September last year that the plant would be set up in Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu.
