Kota Kinabalu: There is no available alternative that is better and more viable than a coal-fired power plant to boost the power reserve margin which is now at a critical level in the East Coast of Sabah.Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie said coal-fired power plants using clean coal technology is not something new and, in fact, had been built in the country.
"In the peninsula, we have a big power plant (coal-fired) about three kilometres from Pangkor Laut, a five-star resort hotel. The private sector is building a 2,100mw capacity coal-fired power plant in Tanjung Pin, Johor, about two kilometres from Singapore and another private sector group is building another 1,700mw capacity plant in Negeri Sembilan, very close to Port Dickson.
"So clean coal technology power plant is not something new," he told a Press conference at Pacific Sutera Harbour Resort and Spa, Friday.
According to him, he was not touching on the issue of location, in this case Lahad Datu, where the power plant had been proposed by TNB's subsidiary Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) but later scrapped by the State Cabinet due to overwhelming environmental concerns.
However, he said there was a need to put coal technology into its proper context and perspective.
"Because if we don't I think for us in SESB and TNB we will not be giving the correct picture to the people in Sabah," he said.
"What is so bad, so dirty about coal? Yes, coal is black, giving an impression it is not clean and if you talk about coal plants 20 years ago the worries should be more than today. But in the last few years clean coal technology had been developed and is increasingly sophisticated," said Moggie.
In fact, he said clean coal technology does not have the polluting effect that people think it has.
Towards this end, Moggie said when the project in the East Coast was proposed they had incorporated clean coal technology that had already been implemented in many parts of the world.
The demand in the East Coast is 200mw against the capacity of 170mw, meaning there is a 30mw shortfall and it is increasing aggravated by the ageing diesel-fired power plant which is costly to operate and more polluting.
"We need clean coal power plant technology badly because come 2010 - 2011 we think the power supply in Tawau would be at a crisis level," he said.
In the East Coast, he said the reserve margin was critical because from the SESB's point of view they were now depending on old sets of diesel- powered plants.
These fossil fuel power plants are unstable and since they are ageing the risk of breaking down was also getting higher, adding that the situation had been anticipated about four years ago, prompting the proposal to build another power plant in the East Coast.
Moggie said a gas-fired power plant would have been the best choice since it is quicker to build and efficient but "we were told there is no gas available for the East Coast".
As for hydropower, he said Sabah has two sites in Liwagu and Ulu Padas but unfortunately both of them would be very much for the West Coast area.
"Then we looked at the potential of diesel setsÉbut again it is equally polluting, the cost is high so you cannot build large power plants with diesel. We looked at bio-mass power or green power but unfortunately the most it can generate is 10mw but not 200mw."
Moggie said people also talked about using solar power as well as wind but that the technology has not reached a stage of building a major power plant to tap power from the sun or wind.
"Wind power to produce 300mw of power in Sabah is not practical so we feel there is no other alternative for us but a coal-fired power plant although it is expensive," he said.
As for the transmission of power from the West Coast to the East Coast since the East-West Grid is already in place, Moggie said in terms of network planning it would be unwise to be dependent on just one source of supply.
"Anything more than 20 per cent of your source you should diversify because should anything happen to that source the whole country would black out. Yes, the East-West grid is there but we cannot rely totally on it.
Therefore, it is still necessary for us to build a power plant in the East Coast," he said, adding that for the next 10 years or so the reality is Sabah does not have a power loop system.
As for getting power from Bakun Dam, situated in Belaga district in Sarawak, Moggie said it was out of the question since even if there was a surplus of power it would mean about building a 900km long high tension power transmission to the East Coast of Sabah.
"I am not talking about the costÉit is impractical because what would happen if one of the lines went out in the middle of the jungle," he said, adding that Sarawak has many potential hydropower sites and some located close to Sabah.
"But all of them are near the West Coast. My point is that for the East Coast there is no option. We don't see any other real option here," he said.
Moggie said the public needs to understand that modern clean coal technology managed to reduce the emission of harmful gas like carbon dioxide. An additional RM100 million was also set aside for environmental issue mitigation, he said.
"But at the end of the day, whatever we do, its going to have some effect on the environment. The issue is the choice, whether the effect is acceptable for the benefit you are getting out of it," he said.
On the question of supply of coal, Moggie said they had identified Kalimantan, Indonesia. On whether TNB would be proposing an alternative location to the State Government to build the coal-fired power plant in the East Coast, he said it is an issue that needs to be addressed and objections from the people are anticipated.
He said TNB would not only be discussing alternate sites but the overall power plant situation in Sabah.
According to Moggie, presently Sabah's reserve margin stands at 15 per cent with the demand being 642mw against capacity of 720mw.
Nonetheless, the 90mw difference (excess) is also not reliable due to ageing power plants as well as the fact that the hydropower plant in Pangi, Tenom is also seasonal.
During the dry season the plant would not be able to generate power at full capacity, he said.
Moggie said the anticipated reserve margin in the West Coast was getting thinner due to delay in the completion of several privatised projects.
"We are very concerned with the delay and the board has made certain views which I prefer not to state publicly but it is important they are completed as soon as possible," he said.
