KUCHING, Sept 26: Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii wants the Sarawak government to be transparent and accountable on the hydrogen bus project.
As such he called on Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to provide details of the whole project.
“I urge Chief Minister Abang Johari and the state government to be more accountable in the state’s Hydrogen Bus Project including revealing the cost of the project, contract details with the said company involved and most importantly, the economic feasibility study and cost-effectiveness analysis of the usage of these hydrogen buses, in comparison to other renewable energy powered buses, including the common electric buses,” according to Yii in a statement here today.
He was responding to news reports of troubles faced by the three hydrogen buses which underwent trial runs in the city in August. The project was also unable to meet the target date of September 15 for the buses to be ready for public usage.
“It is also reported that the government so far had yet to reveal the costs involved in acquiring the buses and building the facility to produce and refuel hydrogen.
“This project has already been delayed at least twice as it was supposed to be introduced in July last year, but somehow it was pushed till August this year and 15th September as the target date for public usage, but yet such target still could not be met,” Dr Yii noted.
While the delay was reportedly due to a temporary halt at the hydrogen production plant and refuelling station, the main question still has to be the feasibility and economic sense of the usage of such buses, he added.
“Based on the (news) report, the problem is currently being rectified as it is still under the warranty period of the specialist company, but imagine if it encounters problem in its early implementation, what will be the cost of the maintenance especially if it is pass the warranty period. This of course does not include the maintenance of the bus itself after this.
“Before this, Abang Johari mentioned that such public transportation will be cheap, considering the fact that hydrogen is extracted from water, which is abundant in Sarawak. The reality is that while water is abundant, the problem is the amount of energy needed to electrolyse water into hydrogen and then convert it back into electricity to charge the batteries in the buses, which is not cheap,” said Yii.
The Democratic Action Party (DAP) lawmaker stressed that on top of the production process or electrolysis that was not cheap, the cost of building fuelling stations itself would also be costly.
“Are they planning to build multiple hydrogen fuelling stations in order to cover a bigger area in Sarawak then? Storing and distributing hydrogen safely requires high speciality and thus will incur high cost.
“Thus, I strongly question the direction Abang Jo and the state government is taking with the introduction of these hydrogen buses, especially when in Sarawak our power is already largely renewable (over 70 per cent hydro) and an electric bus can easily charge using the grid anywhere anytime, without investing in a non-existent hydrogen infrastructure and distribution network.
“That is why the state government must be transparent with the feasibility study for the whole project and whether it is worth using our precious public funds to undertake such a project when there are better options out there. This should not be an “image” project at the expense of “pragmatism”, efficiency and economic reality on the ground,” Dr Yii added. — DayakDaily
