KOTA KINABALU, Jan 18 — An environmental group here has criticised and outrightly condemned a proposal by a private firm to build a “clean” coal-fired plant to solve Sabah’s electricity woes.
Sabah Environment Protection Association (Sepa) president Lanash Thanda said it was unlikely the coal-fired plant would be as “clean” as promised, given that developed countries like America which uses advanced coal technology was failing.
“When firms use terms like ‘cheap’, ‘known technology’, proven to produce clean fuel’, and ‘zero-waste system’, warning bells start ringing.
“Clean coal technology is not cheap, lignite is cheap. The cost will be absorbed by the consumers,” she said.
She said the use of lignite, a brown coal which is the lowest ranking coal, has high energy density, water content and pollutants which produces more ash, moisture and pollutants when it burns.
“Where does the ‘dirt’ go is a question we should ask because it may end up in our water and air.
“We can't even achieve a zero-waste system when it comes to our oil palm industry and we have been doing that for years with some of the best research and development in that field,” she said.
Thanda continued to questioned the credibility of the “clean” coal technology saying that China’s pollution index is at its worst while countries like America, is claiming failure in their clean coal efforts due to many factors.
“SEPA will stick to our original motto of no coal in Sabah and all coal is dirty,” she said in a statement here today.
Last week, Peninsula-based company Afmaco Energy Bhd announced its intention to invest RM6 billion to develop a clean fuel refinery complex in Sabah’s east coast of Tawau and said it was now awaiting approval from the federal government and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to go ahead with an environmental impact assessment.
It’s chief executive officer Ahmad Faizul Mohamed Alwi had said the project would utilise Chinese environmentally-friendly technology that uses zero waste system that has been in use for eight years.
However, Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said he would obtain a briefing on the matter before making a stand while his deputy Datuk Pang Yuk Ming said he was not aware of the project.
In the past, environmentalists in Sabah has been vehemently against the idea of a coal-fired plant.
In 2011, government plans to build a coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu were dropped following objections that claimed it would degrade the environment in the area.
In 2015, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Maximus Ongkili had said that the government was in the process of setting up a 380MW gas fired power plant in Sandakan to meet power demand in the east coast of Sabah.
