@ green | September-October , 2020

Datuk Patinggi ( Dr ) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Openg , Chief Minister of Sarawak ( 4th left ) looking at the miniature model of South East Asia ’ s First Integrated Hydrogen Production Plant and Refuelling Station during the plant ’ s launch . Also in the picture from left , Datu Sharbini Suhaili , Sarawak Energy Group CEO , Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom , Sarawak Minister for Utilities , Datuk Liwan Lagang Assistant Minister for Rural Electricity , Datuk Dr Abdul Rahmah Junaidi Assistant Minister for Water Supply and Datuk Amar Abdul Hamed Sepawi , Sarawak Energy Chairman .

Sarawak Energy together with the Ministry of Utilities Sarawak organised its first ownbrand thought leadership conference on sustainability and renewable energy through the Sustainability and Renewable Energy Forum or SAREF 2019 . It attracted experts , business leaders and champions of sustainability and renewable energy and featured a special session by Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh who is a United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) Goodwill Ambassador . Menara Sarawak Energy .

Datu Sharbini Suhaili , Sarawak Energy Group Chief Executive Officer .

Sarawak Energy established and commissioned Southeast Asia ’ s first Integrated Hydrogen Production Plant and Refuelling Station

generation of renewable hydropower in Malaysia , it was only a matter of time for the Sarawak government to take things up a notch in exploring alternative pathways with other renewables for a more sustainable energy future .

Already Malaysia ’ s largest producer of hydropower with 3,452 MW of installed capacity from its existing major hydropower plants Batang Ai , Bakun and Murum from a total grid-connected capacity of 5,204

MW , Sarawak has since moved on to explore hydrogen as an alternative clean energy source which is primarily aimed at greening its transportation sector and strategically utilised solar power to provide micro-grids to light up Sarawak ’ s remote hinterland villages .

In the pipeline are the 1,285MW Baleh hydropower and a 50MW floating solar projects .

Following in the footsteps of other countries like the United States of America , Japan and European nations such as Germany that are already at the forefront in this technological advancement of hydrogen and fuel cell application , in 2017 Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi ( Dr ) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Openg announced it was entrusting Sarawak ’ s own utility and energy developer Sarawak Energy to spearhead energy-related research beginning with a feasibility study on this .

With abundant clean hydropower resources , Sarawak provides an ideal setting in enabling the hydrogen economy and hence this study was initiated as pioneering steps to