04
industry
@green | July-August, 2020
Renewable
hydropower
driving Sarawak’s
development
Murum Junction Substation.
Sarawak Energy has a target to raise the percentage of
alternative renewables in its generation mix this year
“Hydropower has
played a major role
in Sarawak’s energy
development strategy.
It is renewable and
reliable and since
we focused on its
development, we
were able to secure
sufficient and
affordable electricity
for the people and
catalyse hydroindustrialisation
in the
Sarawak Corridor of
Renewable Energy.”
– Datu Sharbini Suhaili
Sarawak aspires to achieve a developed
and high-income status by 2030, and a key
strategy towards realising this ambition is
by building up its hydropower generation
capacity to drive the State's economic and
industrial growth under the Sarawak Corridor
of Renewable Energy or SCOre launched
in 2008.
Blessed with the necessary geographical and climate
conditions - rivers, mountainous terrain and abundant
rainfall almost all year round - it was a logical step for Sarawak
to harness its strengths and embark on hydropower
development. The State also has a good understanding of
its hydropower development potential with studies that go
back to the 1960s.
As the primary provider of electricity and energy
developer in Sarawak, Sarawak Energy is supporting the
Sarawak Government in realising this growth ambition. At
the same time, together with Sarawak’s Ministry of Utilities,
the corporation is intensifying efforts to ensure the vast
state which covers an area almost the size of Peninsular
Malaysia achieves full electrification by 2025.
“Hydropower has played a major role in Sarawak’s
energy development strategy. It is renewable and reliable
and since we focused on its development, we were able to
secure sufficient and affordable electricity for the people
and catalyse hydro-industrialisation in the Sarawak Corridor
of Renewable Energy,” said Datu Sharbini Suhaili,
Sarawak Energy Group Chief Executive Officer.
“In addition, with the development of large hydropower,
the carbon intensity of our power grid has been reduced by
76.5% since 2009 and can help towards meeting Malaysia’s
Paris Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 target in the global
fight against climate change.”
Hydropower projects
do have a high upfront outlay
Hydropower has enabled Sarawak to offer the lowest
unsubsidised average electricity tariffs in Malaysia and
amongst the lowest average tariffs within ASeaN to its
700,000 customers.
“For a developing State like Sarawak, affordability is a
crucial consideration. We needed an energy source that
supports our development at an acceptable cost and hydropower
provided that. Hydropower projects do have a high
upfront outlay during the construction phase, but they have
very low running costs and can operate for many decades.
“The globally competitive rates have also attracted
energy-intensive industries to set up their operations
here in designated industrial parks, creating downstream
business opportunities and jobs for Sarawakians,” Sharbini
explained to Sustainable Energy Malaysia.
Sarawak’s total hydro installed capacity is 3,452 MW
from its hydropower plants comprising the 2,400 MW
Bakun, 944 MW Murum and 108 MW Batang Ai.
Currently in construction is the Baleh Hep - a 188mhigh
concrete-faced rockfill dam located on the Baleh
River. Construction began in late 2017 and the project is
scheduled to be commissioned in 2026. With the addition
of 1,285MW renewable electricity, Baleh Hep is set to meet
anticipated rising energy demands.
Sarawak has also built mini-hydropower plants to cater
for localised grids and meet demand needs in areas yet to
be connected to the State’s main grid due to their distant
Renewable energy for Sarawak.
geographical locations. The 10.5MW Kota 2, a run-of-river
scheme, was built to provide supply to the northern district
of Lawas and displace its diesel power station.
The company has a target to raise the percentage of
alternative renewables in its generation mix this year and
is looking to introduce large scale solar into the mix by
2030. It is embarking on a 50MW floating solar project and
built Southeast Asia’s first integrated hydrogen production
plant and refuelling station with the Linde Group in
2019.Sarawak Energy also entered into a memorandum of
understanding with a Korean Consortium to collaborate on
research into microgrid technology in Sarawak.
Sarawak’s rural electrification plan is based on a mix of
strategies that includes extending the transmission and distribution
infrastructure further inland and focuses on solar
or micro-hydro for Sarawak’s most remote hinterland communities.
This initiative – the Sarawak Alternative Rural
Electrification Scheme (SareS) - has displaced thousands
of household or village-owned diesel generators since
2017, boosting Sarawak’s renewable energy credentials.
SareS has won Sarawak an international recognition
at the 4thInternational Alliance for Rural Electrification
(ARE) Energy Access Investment Summit in Catania Sicily
in 2018 under the Government in Africa, Asia and Latin
America category of the ARE Awards.
Sharbini went on to explain that even with renewable
hydropower forming the predominant part of Sarawak’s
generation mix, Sarawak Energy still maintained a balance
of thermal resources for energy security, utilising
indigenous resources. Sarawak has the largest reserves
of coal and gas in Malaysia and has just commissioned its
last coal-fired power plant.
Renewable hydropower would continue to be
the primary energy source
However, renewable hydropower would continue to be the
primary energy source for Sarawak as it can deliver the
necessary benefits required for a developing state especially
affordability.
Sarawak’s hydropower projects are located in the State’s
hinterland and have brought development in terms of
infrastructure and economic opportunities in the interior.
Sarawak Energy is guided by the International Commission
on Large Dams (ICOLD) which ensures Sarawak
Energy’s hydropower projects are built and operated safely
and the International Hydropower Association (IHA)
Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol which is