KOTA KINABALU, (3rd June 2010): Hydropower, biomass and the Bakun dam are feasible alternatives to a coal-fired power plant in Sabah, a Malaysian study has found.

These options meet key objectives of the National Energy Policy, which includes promoting the use of clean energy and minimizing negative impacts of power production to the environment.

Results also show the options are not only environment friendly, but also better ways of generating power in terms of cost.

This was revealed in a paper written by Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman doctoral student Koh Siong Lee and his supervisor Dr Lim Yun Seng.

The paper titled Meeting energy demand in a developing economy without damaging the environment A case study in Sabah, Malaysia, from technical, environmental and economic perspectives is available in the online version of international journal, Energy Policy.

The paper used Sabah as a case study to investigate the feasibility of achieving a balance between needed economic growth and protecting the environment.

This comes in wake of a proposal to build a 300 megawatt (MW) coal-fired plant in Lahad Datu, which also happens to be close to eco-sensitive sites like the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion and the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

It is very encouraging to find from the results that, not only are these options more environmental friendly than the coal plant, the financial performance compared well with that of the coal plant.

This is mainly due to savings from the fuel cost. These three options have higher capital cost. However, with zero fuel cost, the annual running cost of the plant is much lower than that of the coal plant, resulting in low lifetime cost, the authors said.

The paper warned that tourism may suffer as there is concern the coal plant will threaten sensitive ecosystems that attract a large number of travelers to Sabah each year.

In the case study of Sabah as a developing economy, it was found that the need for energy at a competitive price can be achieved with options which do not damage the environment.

The renewable and green options are technologically proven, financially attractive and emit little greenhouse gases (GHG), the paper stated.

The authors had assessed seven options based on technical, economic and environmental considerations.

The others options wind turbines, ocean energy, photovoltaic panels for solar power and a second east-west connection grid are environmentally positive but did not score on some points such as cost.

The paper states that there should be minimum barriers for Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and the government to adopt biomass from palm oil, hydropower and electricity from Bakun which have more than adequate potential to meet 300 MW that would be generated by the coal plant.

The authors said with the green movement at global level, multinationals are placing priority on the environment and this includes reducing GHG emissions.

Therefore, countries with a lower GHG emission power industry will be an attractive location to attract more foreign investment from these corporations, which will fuel economic growth of the country, the paper said.

In addition, the authors suggest that the government should review the maximum 10MW generation capacity for companies involved in the Small Renewable Energy Project (SREP) programme given that advancement in technology allows them to produce more.