Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Energy Corporation and Petronas were praised for having successfully implemented the virtual pipeline system (VPS) in Sabah to enhance cleaner access.
“VPS enables the transportation of natural gas to remote areas without physical pipelines. VPS can facilitate the installation of gas generators in off-grid and hard-to-reach locations.”
Such innovative technologies and eco-friendly power solutions such as gas generators and VPS, can enhance energy access.
Fern Raja Harris, the CTO of EXS Synergy said this in her paper: “Empowering Sabah with Sustainable Energy”, at the recent Sabah Oil, Gas & Energy Conference & Exhibition 2024 (SOGCE’24) at SICC.
She noted that VPS, which is ideal for remote areas, provides environmentally-friendly power solutions with reduced emissions, greenhouse gas reduction.
“Gas generators have lower emissions of harmful pollutants compared to diesel generators. The use of gas generators can significantly lower the carbon footprint of power generation.
“Gas generators are well-suited to support electrification in remote and off-grid communities,” Fern said, noting among the challenges yet to be understood and solved include that some 400 villages in Sabah that remain unelectrified.
“Many rural areas in Sabah still lack access to reliable electricity, limiting economic opportunities and quality of life.
“The lack of reliable electricity hinders community development and inhibits industrial growth in Sabah.
“Frequent blackouts and voltage fluctuations disrupt businesses and daily life, undermining the state’s progress,” Fern said.
She sees the Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan 2040 (SE-RAMP 2040) as promising with the key objectives of ensuring reliable, affordable, and sustainable power supply for Sabah, improving overall grid reliability.
“SE-RAMP 2040 provides a comprehensive framework to achieve these energy goals, including electrifying 400 villages in Sabah.”
In the spirit of moving forward together, Fern hopes for more innovative partnerships between Sabah and technology providers will enable the implementation of sustainable initiatives as the current Sabah’s total installed capacity is 1,919 MW.
The energy capacity mix in Sabah comprises: 64.3 per cent natural gas, 15.1 per cent diesel, 8.7 per cent biomass, 5.8 per cent solar PV, 4.6 per cent hydro and 1 per cent biogas.
