KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is well positioned to help Malaysia become a global player in green technology, but this can only be done if serious steps are taken to develop renewable energy, including from biomass.
PROMOTE GREEN TECH: Pristine areas of the east coast of Sabah that will be affected by the building of a coal-fired power plant.
The country also needs to translate into action pledges it has made such as cutting carbon emissions by 40 per cent compared to 2005 levels, and policies which on paper, promote green technologies.
Green Surf (Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future) said it views with interest the blog posting by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak asking Malaysians for their opinion on the future of electricity generation in the country.
The coalition of five non-governmental organisations said although the prime minister wanted to hear what people think of nuclear energy, he also stated that he wants to know what they feel about alternatives that have not been considered, and that could firmly establish Malaysia as a “global green revolution leader.”
“Since Green Surf was set up last year, we have been repeatedly asking our leaders to use clean energy sources to overcome the power shortage problem in Sabah.
“We should make use of biomass from our vast oil palm plantations, tap into geothermal energy, and look at solar to improve power supply in Sabah.
“Worldwide, there is concern about climate change, and the impact of burning fossil fuels like coal to generate electricity.
“Sabah also happens to be a state that is blessed with some of the most unique plant species, wildlife and marine habitats.
Malaysia can through Sabah show the world that it is possible to do what is right,” Green Surf said in a statement yesterday.
The coalition pointed out that Najib had through www.1malaysia.com.my, said Malaysia’s fuel mix for power was skewed too much in favour of natural gas and coal.
“Such imbalance needs correcting as we aim to become a low carbon economy. “Environmental considerations aside, it will simply be too costly to continue using coal and gas past 2020,” Najib said in his blog.
Najib also touched on using innovativeness to tap energy from the sun, and to look at opportunities from biomass.
As an alternative to the proposed 300MW coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu, Green Surf wants Tenaga Nasional Berhad and its subsidiary Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd to heed what Najib wrote in his blog.
“The proposed plant was rejected by the Sabah government in April 2008, which cited environmental and health considerations.
“A second project site in Sandakan was also rejected last year. However, TNB and SESB are adamant on building the plant in the Sinakut area in Lahad Datu.
“The proposed plant sits close to the shores of the Coral Triangle, which is home to over 30 per cent of the world’s coral reefs and slightly more than a third of coral reef fish species,” the coalition said.
Last year, Najib attended the Coral Triangle Initiative Summit in Indonesia, and joined leaders from the region to sign a statement that focused on protecting coral reefs and food security.
Green Surf wants those who are concerned about the proposed coal plant to send their comments to the Prime Minister through his blog.
The coalition also said a study it commissioned on clean energy options for Sabah concluded that the state, and Malaysia, stand to gain from using clean energy as it is a “premium product.”
The study led by University of California in Berkeley Professor of Energy, Daniel M Kammen, found that 42 of 117 palm oil mills in the state collectively produce 380MW at present.
If the number of ‘large’ mills increase at the same rate as fresh fruit bunch production, the capacity will grow to 510MW by 2020.
Currently, only 30MW is produced from palm oil waste under the Small Renewable Energy Projects programme.