KUCHING, Nov 6: The engineering community in Miri now has a greater understanding with a more holistic view of renewable energy development in Sarawak Energy’s ongoing effort to deliver reliable and affordable power for all of Sarawak, following a sharing session at a technical forum in Miri yesterday.
The forum was organised by the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) Miri Branch at the Faculty of Engineering and Science Curtin University Malaysia.
According to a press release, the forum titled ‘Renewable Energy in Sarawak: What’s In It for Us?’ saw Sarawak Energy group chief executive officer Sharbini Suhaili engage with academia as well as members of the professional engineering institution on the need to achieve a balance in pursuit of energy development in the state and on the way forward for renewables.
In his presentation ‘Energy Outlook in Sarawak — Current and Future Development Plan’, Sharbini shared with the audience the critical role of energy to drive economic development and transformation in Sarawak and the progress Sarawak Energy is making to assist the state under the Ministry of Utilities.
“Balanced energy development requires energy reliability, sustainability and affordability and we are focused on striking this balance. I think we are on track and will continue to strive to do even better,” he said.
“We have a balanced generation mix with renewable and affordable hydropower being the predominant component, allowing Sarawakians to enjoy one of the lowest tariffs in the region. However, we also have indigenous resources like coal and gas and we are utilising these for our thermal power plants to ensure energy security,” he continued.
Sharbini also highlighted the progress of the state-owned energy developer and utility’s major projects to further enhance Sarawak’s power generation capacity as well as improve on reliability of supply to its customers.
He said the comprehensive and integrated development would provide the modern electricity system that the state and its people deserve, and move Sarawak forward in its vision to become the ASEAN powerhouse with the materialisation of the Borneo Grid.
Also presenting was Dr Chen Shiun, Sarawak Energy vice-president for research and development who shared his thoughts on ‘Renewable Energy Initiatives — Challenges and Opportunity’ covering design and practicality considerations surrounding rural electrification and viability of Feed-in-Tariff in the state among others.
Commenting on the event, Dr Chen said, “This is a great opportunity for Sarawak Energy to share with this circle of professionals and aspiring engineers on energy development in Sarawak and the direction Sarawak Energy is taking in regards to renewables.
“The forum presents an ideal platform for both sides to exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of engineering and research which is in line with Sarawak’s vision to intensify its research development and innovation.” — DayakDaily
