M’sia: Renewable Energy Law Underway, Coal Plant Plans in East M’sia
July 13, 2010 by admin
Filed under News Bites
The government is drafting the bill on renewable energy for more aggressive development of energy in Malaysia, according to a news report. Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Peter Chin Fah Kui, was reported to have said that the new law, expected to be enacted in early 2011, will introduce the implementation of the Feed-in Tariff mechanism.
He said the move was in line with the government’s aim of achieving a capacity of 2,080 MW in renewable energy by 2020.
On the other hand, another news report states that environmentalists condemned a plan to build a coal-fired power plant in Sabah, East Malaysia, saying it will harm the island’s fragile coral reefs and rainforests. The 300-megawatt plant in Lahad Datu will face the Coral Triangle which is one of the world’s most biodiverse marine environments.
The area, which spans the seas around East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands, is home to 75 percent of all known coral species.
The opposition is led by Green Surf, a coalition of groups including the Malaysian Nature Society, which says the proposal will displace villagers and threaten endangered species including orangutans and Bornean rhinos.
News reports said construction of the RM1.7 billion power plant could start in mid-2011 if government approval is granted. The station could begin operating in two years.
The plant is the latest energy project to stir controversy in Borneo. The vast Bakun dam in neighbouring state, Sarawak, which saw swathes of rainforest cleared and thousands of indigenous people displaced, also drew intense criticism.
