Kementerian Hijau; "meningkatkan pengunaan tenaga boleh diperbaharui menggunakan aplikasi teknologi hijau"

Berita Harian: 28 Januari, 2010 14:09 PM

Menteri Mesti Pamerkan Prestasi Yang Baik

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 Jan (Bernama) -- Pelan Hala Tuju Program Transformasi Kerajaan (GTP) menetapkan kepada para menteri supaya mempamerkan prestasi yang baik mengikut dan akan bertanggungjawab jika mereka tidak memenuhi Petunjuk Prestasi Utama (KPI) kementerian masing-masing.

Mengikut pelan itu yang dilancarkan oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, beliau (Najib) telah menjalankan sesi penilaian prestasi secara individu dengan semua menteri beliau.

Dalam sesi penilaian tersebut, Perdana Menteri mempertanggungjawab menteri-menteri terhadap prestasi mereka dalam petunjuk awalan prestasi utama menteri (MKPI).

Beliau juga memberi sokongan kepada menteri untuk membantu mereka memperbaiki prestasi serta mencabar sasaran dan rancangan penyampaian yang sedang mereka rangka untuk tahun 2010.

Hasil daripada sesi penilaian PM-menteri, MKPI untuk 2010 telah dipersetujui. Prestasi berdasarkan sasaran ini akan dinilai pada bulan Mei/Jun dan November/Disember ini.

Pada tahun 2010, MKPI dijangka disebarkan ke seluruh perkhidmatan awam.

Seperti bidang keberhasilan utama negara (NKRA), bidang keberhasilan menteri (MKRA) dan MKPI ini hanyalah permulaan dan akan diperhalusi dan diperbaiki selanjutnaya mengikut peredaran masa.

Inisiatif serta tindakan yang menyokong pelaksanaan ke arah mencapai sasaran ini juga merupakan penetapan awal, yang akan dimansuh, diganti atau dipertingkat jika sasaran tidak tercapai.

"Yang penting hanya penyampaian hasil sebenar dan nyata yang dapat dilihat oleh rakyat," mengikut GTP.

MKRA dan MKPI haruslah konsistan dengan keutamaan negara, iaitu NKRA dan dengan peredaran masa, ia akan disebarkan ke seluruh perkhidmatan awam untuk memastikan penyampaian hasil.

Pada April 2009, menerusi pelantikan kabinet baharu, Perdana Menteri telah mengumumkan pendekatan baharu ke arah kerajaan yang lebih telus dan bertanggung jawab yang memberi tumpuan terhadap penyampaian untuk rakyat.

Untuk itu Najib memperkenal paradigma baharu untuk meningkatkan prestasi dan menyampaikan hasil dengan menggunakan bidang keberhasilan utama dan petunjuk prestasi utama.

Selaras dengan amalan Najib yang mengutamakan pencapaian transformasi melalui kepimpinan yang berasaskan prestasi, menteri dan kakitangan awam kanan dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menambah baik MKRA mereka, serta pelaksanaan KPI menteri dalam bidang-bidang tersebut.

Tiga bidang tumpuan untuk menteri dan kementerian Tenaga, Teknologi Hijau dan Air ialah meningkatkan pengendalian bekalan elektrik dengan mengurangkan tempoh gangguan bekalan, meningkatkan pengunaan tenaga boleh diperbaharui menggunakan aplikasi teknologi hijau serta meningkatakan bekalan air terawat dan meluaskan perkhidmatan pembetungan di kawasan bandar.
Mengikut GTP, Nilai Indeks Purata Tempoh Gangguan sistem (SAIDI) untuk Sabah ialah 1,947 minit berbanding 78 di Semenanjung Malaysia, dan 273 untuk Sarawak pada tahun 2008.

"Sasaran kami ialah mengurangkan nilai SAIDI bagi Sabah kepada 700 minit dan Semenanjung Malaysia kepada 60 minit menjelang akhir 2010," menurut GTP.

Bagi meningkatkan penggunaan tenaga boleh diperbaharui berdasarkan aplikasi teknologi hijau, kementerian telah mula meningkatkan penjanaan elektrik daripada sumber tenaga boleh diperbaharui melalui teknologi hidro mini dan sumber, biojisim, biogas dan sumber solar.

"Sasaran kami, pada tahun 2010, 65 MW elektrik akan dijana daripada sumber boleh diperbaharui dan 2013 KW daripada sumber solar," mengikut GTP.

Mengikut pelan itu, 96.5 peratus daripada kawasan bandar mempunyai akses kepada air terawat dan permatuhan 95 peratus kepada piawaian air yang ditetapkan oleh Kementerian Kesihatan, satu nilai yang ingin dikekalkan.

MKRA dan MKPI untuk Kementerian Perumahan dan kerjaan tempatan adalah meningkatkan bilangan kediaman untuk isi rumah berpendapatan rendah di kawasan bandar, menyokong penyambungan semula projek kediaman swasta sedia ada yang berlesen tetapi terbengkalai dan meningkatkan kecekapan penyampaian perkhidmatan bagi pihak berkuasa tempatan.

Pada tahun 2010, kementerian itu merancang menyediakan tambahan 3,056 unit untuk disewa menerusi program Perumahan Rakyat.

Kementerian juga mahu menyokong penyambungan semula projek kediaman swasta sedia ada yang berlesen tetapi terbengkalai.

"Kami prihatin akan kesukaran yang dihadapi oleh para pembeli yang terlibat dengan projek perumahan terbengkalai," kata GTP.

"Oleh itu, kami akan menggunakan khidmat pemaju sedia ada untuk membantu mereka mengatasi masaalah yang mungkin dihadapi, atau melantik pemaju baharu., untuk memastikan 35 projek disambung semula pada tahun 2010," kata pelan itu.

Kementerian juga mahu meningkatkan khidmat pelanggan dan kemudahan apabila berinteraksi dengan Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan (PBT).

Ini akan direalisasikan dengan mempunyai lebih banyak PBT(tambahan 11 PBT pada tahun 2010) yang mempunyai ePBT dalam talian, bagi membolehkan rakyat membuat bayaran cukai taksiran PBT, cukai tanah serta membuat aduan atau memberi maklum balas secara elektronik.

-- BERNAMA

Saudi Arabia preparing for oil demand to peak

Arab Saudi Peak Oil?? Exporter of Solar Power??

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Thestar: Tuesday February 16, 2010 MYT 8:22:00 AM

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: A top Saudi energy official expressed serious concern Monday that world oil demand could peak in the next decade and said his country was preparing for that eventuality by diversifying its economic base.

Mohammed al-Sabban, lead climate talks negotiator, said the country with the world's largest proven reserves of conventional crude is working to become the top exporter of energy, including alternative forms such as solar power.

Saudi Arabia was among the most vocal opponents of proposals during the climate change talks in Copenhagen.

And al-Sabban criticized what he described as efforts by developed nations to adopt policies biased against oil producers through the imposition of taxes on refined petroleum products while offering huge subsidies for coal - a key industry for the United States.

Al-Sabban said the potential that world oil demand had peaked, or would peak soon, was an "alarm that we need to take more seriously" as Saudi charts a course for greater economic diversification.

"We cannot stay put and say 'well, this is something that will happen anyway," al-Sabban said at the Jeddah Economic Forum.

The "world cannot wait for us before we are forced to adapt to the reality of lower and lower oil revenues," he added later.

Some experts have argued that demand for oil, the chief export for Saudi Arabia and the vast majority of other Gulf Arab nations, has already peaked.

Others say consumption will plateau soon, particularly in developed nations that are pushing for greater reliance on renewable energy sources.

With oil demand only now starting to pick up after it was pummeled by the global recession, some analysts say consumers may have learned to live permanently with a lower level of consumption.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as other international energy organizations, is forecasting a slight rise in oil demand this year, based mainly on increased consumption in Asia after last year's sharp hit.

Either peak oil scenario presents grave challenges for the Gulf region and OPEC, whose countries rely on oil sales for as much as 90 percent of their budgets.

Al-Sabban, who also serves as the chief economic adviser to Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi, said an oil demand peak would be "very serious" for the country.

Saudi has about 264 billion barrels of crude reserves and currently produces about 8 million barrels per day out of its overall output capacity of around 12 million barrels per day.

The kingdom, widely seen as the de facto leader of the 12-member OPEC, has embraced an ambitious expenditure program aimed not only at further developing its oil base but also expanding and diversifying its economic base.

Its expansionary policies came even as other nations were tightening purse strings in response to the world's worst financial crisis in over six decades.

The outlays included billions of dollars for a new research university that opened last year, as well as major ventures such as the construction of new economic cities and other infrastructure.

Oil's pre-recession price boom also helped pad Saudi Arabia's foreign reserves, now in excess of $400 billion, and have helped the government weather the worst of the global crisis.

International ratings agency Moody's, in a reflection of the country's macroeconomic position, on Monday upgraded Saudi Arabia's foreign and local currency government ratings to Aa3 from A1 citing "the continued solid state of government finances which have largely withstood oil price volatility and the global economic crisis."

Al-Sabban said that along with investing in education and economic diversification, Saudi must ensure that it become the top energy exporter, including in solar power, to keep moving forward.

The country recently launched its first solar-powered desalination plant and al-Sabban said oil giant Saudi Aramco was working on a pilot project to inject carbon emissions back into wells to help boost output.

The carbon sequestration project, which he said would be operational by 2012, was a sign of Saudi Arabia's commitment to environmentally sound energy development.

The push for cleaner technology is pivotal for the oil rich kingdom. - AP

Chin: Power from Bakun hydro for Sarawak first

Thestar: Saturday February 13, 2010

MIRI: The initial power generated by the Bakun hydroelectric project in Sarawak needs to be first supplied to the state before being expanded to Peninsular Malaysia, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said yesterday.
He said that since the project was expected to begin transmitting power by early next year, there would be a gap in terms of waiting for the completion of the undersea cable project to supply electricity from Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the undersea cable project was due for completion by 2017 and until then, power from the Bakun project had to be utilised properly for the development in the state.
Chin was commenting on a recent concern over whether Bakun power would be sold to Tenaga Nasional Bhd for use in the peninsula as the electricity was needed to run two proposed aluminium smelters in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy.
“The smelter projects can use the electricity produced by the Bakun hydro almost immediately when it is ready (to supply power),” he said.
The two smelter projects are those initiated by the joint ventures between GIIG Holdings Sdn Bhd and Aluminium Corp of China Ltd as well as between Rio Tinto Alcan and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd. — Bernama

EQ Solar plans RM1.7b investments in Johor

Thestar: Saturday February 13, 2010
By EDY SARIF
edy@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: EQ Solar Technology International Sdn Bhd plans to invest US$500mil (RM1.71bil) over three years to produce module, cell and wafer at Senai Hi-Tech Park in Johor Baru.

The investment would begin in the second half-year and the products were meant for its customers in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, president Isabel Kow said yesterday.

The company, a subsidiary of Hangzhou Energy Solar Co Ltd, will become the first China-based solar module manufacturing company to invest in Malaysia.

Kow said EQ Solar had chosen Malaysia for its first manufacturing facility outside China because of its business-friendly environment, strategic location, attractive value proportion and excellent facilities.

“EQ Solar will not only bring advancement in technology transfer but also innovation in green technology.
EQ Solar chairman Jin Yali exchanging documents with Datuk Ahmad Shukri Tajuddin. With them are (from left) Isabel Kow, Mox-Linde managing director Wong Siew Yap, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Senai Hi-Tech Park chairman Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman

EQ Solar chairman Jin Yali exchanging documents with Datuk Ahmad Shukri Tajuddin. With them are (from left) Isabel Kow, Mox-Linde managing director Wong Siew Yap, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Senai Hi-Tech Park chairman Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman

“This will contribute to the transformation of Malaysia’s economy into one of the leading nations in green technology,” she said at a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing with Senai Hi-Tech Park Sdn Bhd.

Kow said the company planned to utilise a 10-hectare site leased from Senai Hi-Tech Park for the setting up of a plant.

The facility will have a peak annual production capacity of 50MW of high-technology crystalline modules which will eventually be raised to 200MW.

“We expect to start operation by the end of this year or early next year,” she said, adding that the company aimed to be listed on Bursa Malaysia in two to three years.

At the same venue, another MoU was signed between Senai Hi-Tech Park and gas company MOX-Linde Gases Sdn Bhd.

The deal is for the latter to set up an integrated industrial gas manufacturing and separation plant and electronics specialty gases warehouse on a 2-hectare land at the park.

MOX-Linde planned to invest RM60mil to supply industrial gases directly to the tenants of Senai Hi-Tech Park.

At a press conference, Senai Hi-Tech Park chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Shukri Tajuddin said the MoUs also marked the beginning of the comprehensive and integrated development of Senai Airport City.

“Senai Hi-Tech Park is now ready to herald its presence as another competitive and preferred location for high-tech manufacturing, research and innovation activities,” he said.

He added that Senai Hi-Tech Park was in talks with other international companies for potential investments but declined to elaborate.

Go for solar power, not nuclear energy

Thestar: Thursday June 25, 2009

AHMAD SHADZLI ABDUL WAHAB,
Director, Global Renewable Energy Network (GREEN),
Bangi, Selangor.

I READ with utmost concern of TNB’s plan to implement the first nuclear plant by 2025, as reported in the Star on June 23. My immediate question is, has TNB made any detailed study on the viability of solar energy before deciding on nuclear power plant (NPP)?
For TNB to invest RM6.9 billion to build a 1,000 MW station is way too expensive. Let us be mindful that this is already the cheapest option if the Chinese design is used. It will cost even more (RM13.9 billion) if the US design is used. The move will certainly add financial strain to the already cash–strap TNB, and what is even more worrying is putting public safety at a high risk due to possible nuclear fallout should an accident happen.
The cost mentioned does not even include other costs in running the NPP, such as the disposal of nuclear fuel and other hidden costs associated with the safety and security of its plant. Malaysia is just a small country, and any nuclear fallout would certainly affect almost the entire population of Asean countries.
On the contrary, studies made by Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (PTM) and its IEA international consultant have shown that solar Photovoltaic offers a more viable and environmentally friendly option.
It is estimated that 6,500 MW power can be generated by using only 40% of nation’s house-roof tops (2.5 million houses) and 5% of commercial buildings alone. The cost of solar PV system is continuing to decrease and solar energy experts have forecasted that grid parity is expected to be reached by 2015, which means the cost of electricity generated by solar PV is competitive with the cost of electricity generated from conventional energy resources such as gas, coal, oil and nuclear.
Malaysia is not only blessed with plenty of solar energy but we are also endowed with huge reserves of sand – some of which can be used as basic raw material to make solar cells. Already a huge silicon ingot-making factory is being planned to be set up in Sarawak.
Thus, Malaysia has all the basic ingredients to use this huge potential of solar energy for future electricity needs. From China to Europe and across America, utility companies and governments are focusing more towards increasing renewable energy contributions to its energy mix, but TNB is doing otherwise.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is considering several applications from private investors to build several hundreds of MW of solar PV power plants to meet the ever increasing energy needs in the country.
Obviously, opting for nuclear power station is going to be a financial nightmare not only to TNB but to the taxpayer’s money as well. From the point of national security, nuclear power plant poses even greater risk not only due to possible accident but it is also an easy target for terrorist attack. The risks are just overwhelming.
The way forward for Malaysia now is to go in big way for solar power, not nuclear.
AHMAD SHADZLI ABDUL WAHAB,
Director, Global Renewable Energy Network (GREEN),
Bangi, Selangor.

Sarawak smelters raise uncertainty on Bakun cable project

Thestar: Thursday February 11, 2010

By ANITA GABRIEL

anita@thestar.com.my
PETALING JAYA: The number of power-hungry aluminium smelters that are being planned in Sarawak has raised uncertainty on the fate of the multi-billion ringgit submarine cable project meant to transmit power from Bakun hydroelectric dam in the state to the peninsula.

This is clearly causing some unease, not least for national utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd, which needs to plan the plant-ups to cater for future electricity demand in Peninsular Malaysia.

“Yes, it is a concern to us. We are seeking Government direction on this matter,” said TNB president and chief executive Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh.

Under the proposed plan, the cable project involving the construction of a 1,000km high-voltage direct-current transmission line and a 680-km undersea cable, was expected to be completed in 2015 with an open tender process to be launched in the first quarter of this year. Each cable would be able to transmit 800MW.

“There is lack of clarity. Will the electricity generated by Bakun be consumed by the state or will some of it be sold to the peninsula? There has to be a guaranteed supply of electricity at a certain amount to the peninsula. Otherwise, it will be difficult to make the financial case for the cables,” said an analyst.

The Bakun dam project is expected to generate some 300MW by August.

The Bakun dam project, with an installed capacity of 2,400MW, is expected to turn up some 300MW of juice by August this year and to be fully commissioned by October 2011. The spate of mega projects being proposed (more specifically aluminium smelters, which are major energy guzzlers) under the state’s development agenda Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) has raised the question on whether there will be enough power to be shared from Bakun with the peninsula.
It was announced on Tuesday that Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s controlled GIIG Holdings Sdn Bhd had tied up with Aluminium Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) to develop a US$1bil smelter plant with an initial capacity of 330,000 tonnes per year in Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu; the plant will need some 600MW of electricity.
GIIG director Shahrir Shariff was reported to have said (after the signing ceremony on Tuesday) that the project was mooted back in 2002 but was “stalled because the Government decided that power was supposed to come to the peninsula via the submarine cable. We’ve resumed (the smelter plan) because we’ve been made to understand from the state government that the Bakun power is now meant for Score.”
There is also another multi-billion ringgit aluminium smelter that is being planned in the same industrial area, this time by a 60:40 joint venture between Rio Tinto Alcan and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd with an initial capacity of 550,000 tonnes a year. A memorandum of understanding was signed back in 2008 for Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) to supply between 900MW and 1,200MW of power to this smelter, presumably also from Bakun.
Furthermore, a month ago, 1Malaysia Development Bhd signed a “cooperation framework agreement” with state-owned State Grid Corp of China (SGCC) to jointly undertake projects in Score which could create as much as US$11bil worth of economic value. Part of this plan, it is believed, also involves a massive aluminium smelter and hydro dam projects.

“With all these projects in the pipeline, it looks like it’s no longer the case of Bakun having too much excess capacity which it can transmit to the peninsula. The cost of transmitting electricity or building the cables have to be justified by the amount of capacity transmitted to the peninsula. You can’t build such costly cables if you don’t know how much will be transmitted across. The line only works if there’s substantial power coming across,” said a peeved observer.

The motivation for Sarawak to tap the power capacity to generate economic activity is clear. “If the state can generate a certain amount of economic activity by using its own resources, in this instance, hydro, why not? The multiplier impact for the state outweighs what it could get by selling the power to the peninsula,” said an analyst.
On the other hand, the industry observer said: “The state would rather sell cheap power to energy-hungry industries that pollute the environment at the cost of stirring economic activity nationwide.”
Herein lies the crux of this Bakun dilemma for the peninsula – could this be a play between East and West Malaysia?

Local firms can meet CO2 cut target

Thestar: Thursday February 11, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian companies are capable of meeting the Government’s target to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to 40% by 2020, said CSR Asia (Malaysia) director Rikke Netterstrom.

“The amazing thing about Malaysian companies is that once they get started, they work very fast,” she told StarBiz after its CSR Wednesday Briefing yesterday.
“They are used to being adaptable and they need to see it (reducing carbon emissions) is worth the investment.
“If you look at the palm oil industry, you can see how it’s transformed in the last five years,” said Netterstrom, who moderated the event.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen in December, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia pledged to reduce its CO2 emission to 40% by year 2020.
Netterstrom said the initiative (cutting emissions) needed to be viewed as more than just an incurred cost.
“The obvious challenge is investment. It does cost some money to start looking at a reduction but you will make that back eventually.”
The CSR Wednesday Briefing is a bi-monthly event organised by CSR Asia.

Other News on Berjaya Solar Plan News 9/2/2010

What interesting figure here:

10MW : RM180mil : 50hec (500,000m-sq = 0.5km-sq)

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Business Times

Berjaya Corp said it plans to develop Malaysia’s first large-scale solar photovoltaic power plant in central Selangor state, estimated to cost about RM180 million.

The 10-megawatt plant, to be located on a 50-hectare site, will be ready by 2011 and be able to generate power to supply electricity to 3,000 homes, it said in a statement today.

The project is a “precursor” to developing a 50-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in the future should the first plant be successful, it said in a statement today.
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The Malaysian Reserve

Berjaya Corp Bhd plans to spend RM180 million on a 10MW ground based solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant project to be located at Bukit Tagar in Selangor. Berjaya has submitted its proposal to the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water which is in the midst of reformulating its policy on renewable energy (RE) development and is expected to lead to a new power purchase tariff rate via a new feed-in tariff mechanism. In a release to the exchange yesterday, Berjaya said the project will be undertaken by its wholly-owned unit, Berjaya Solar Sdn Bhd, if the revised RE policy, especially the new power purchase tariff rate, is supportive of such a project.
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The Star

Berjaya Corp Bhd's (BCorp) wholly-owned subsidiary Berjaya Solar Sdn Bhd plans to develop a RM180mil 10-MW ground-based Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power plant at Bukit Tagar, Selangor,

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, BCorp said the plant was a precursor to developing a proposed 50-MW Solar PV power plant in future based on the success of the 10-MW plant it was undertaking.

“A detailed analysis of the proposed Solar PV project has been undertaken, including the consideration of crystalline PV as well as thin film technologies,” it said.

BCorp said Berjaya Solar had established strategic relationship with leading global Solar PV enterprises in the Asean region, such as EQ Solar and other PV manufacturers.

EQ Solar is in the advanced stage of preparation to set up its latest solar panel manufacturing plant in Johor producing mono- and poly- crystalline PV modules.

Berjaya Solar has submitted a proposal to develop the Solar PV power plant to the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry.

Pending and subject to approval of the Feed-in Tariff policy and the project, Berjaya Solar is expected to commence development of the Solar PV power plant in the second half of this year; to be commissioned by 2011.

“The plant will be developed over a 50-ha site, and is capable of generating power to supply electricity to 3,000 homes. The power generated will be connected to the national grid to supply electricity nationwide,” BCorp said.
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TNB is looking to start 1st nuclear plant by 2025

The Star: Posted on June 22, 2009. Filed under: Energy |

JOHOR BARU: The nation’s largest power supplier Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) is looking towards starting its first nuclear power plant by 2025 once it gets the go-ahead from the government.

TNB nuclear energy head Dr Mohd Zamzam Jaafar said that the country had to prepare for a nuclear future as present energy sources faced uncertainty amid volatile prices and scant resources.

He noted that by 2019, current gas resources would have dwindled and the country would need to double its import of coal, making nuclear energy technology the best option forward.

To ensure reliable and reasonably priced electricity, the proven base-load nuclear option must not be precluded.

“We will be working with the Korea Electric Power Corporation on a nuclear pre-feasibility study,” he said adding that other countries which had forged ahead with nuclear power plants included France, South Korea, Canada, Germany, US, Japan and China.

Although possible locations for the nuclear power plants had yet to be disclosed, Dr Zamzam said that it was possible the country might have four plants, similar to nuclear energy driven countries like South Korea.

Dr Zamzam added that the cost of a nuclear plant will vary according to the design with the Chinese design for a 1,000 MW plant costing US2billion (RM6.9bil), while a Russian design would cost 2 billion Euros (RM9.9bil). A US design would cost approximately US$4bil (RM13.9bil).

The cost for research and feasibility could be around RM2mil, he said.

He was speaking at a media briefing on conventional and alternative energy technologies in Terengganu recently.

At present, TNB’s power generation is a mix of gas at 50 percent, coal at 35 percent, hydro at 14 percent and oil, more than one percent.

Dr Zamzam noted that nuclear power was also more competitively priced in terms of electricity compared to other energy resources and the threat of radiation risk was minimal.

Nuclear power plants have low radiation exposure, he said adding that most plants had a target radiation level of 0.05 millisievert (mSv) per year, the same radiation a person would be exposed to in a single x-ray mass examination.

Dr Zamzam also said nuclear power plants use less land compared to hydro plants and were more stable compared to alternatives like wind and solar energy.

He noted that with uncertain future supply and volatile fossil fuel prices, nuclear power could be viewed as a proven insurance base load power generation option, resulting in a more stable electricity tariff.

Berjaya Solar Sdn Bhd to Develop Malaysia’s First Large Scale Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Plant

For Immediate Release

Bursa Announcement

Kuala Lumpur, 9 February 2010 - Berjaya Solar Sdn Bhd (“Berjaya Solar”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berjaya Corporation Berhad, is pleased to announce the proposed development of the country’s first large-scale 10 Megawatt ground-based Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power plant at Bukit Tagar, Selangor, estimated to cost approximately RM180 million.  This is the precursor to developing a proposed 50 Megawatt Solar PV power plant in the future based on the success of the 10 Megawatt plant undertaking.

Berjaya Solar has developed in-depth understanding on implementation of the proposed PV power plant during its recent visits to solar farms and relevant government institutions and companies in Germany and Spain.

A detailed analysis of the proposed PV project has been undertaken, including the consideration of crystalline PV as well as thin film technologies.  Berjaya Solar has established strategic relationship with leading global Solar PV enterprises in the ASEAN region, such as EQ Solar and other PV manufacturers.  EQ Solar is in the advanced stage of preparation to set up its latest solar panel manufacturing plant in Johor producing mono- and poly- crystalline PV modules.

The potential involvement of local and regional manufacturers will provide significant benefits to the country’s existing and new industry throughout the course of the project.

As an independent developer and operator of solar power in Malaysia, Berjaya Solar has submitted a proposal to develop the Solar PV Power Plant to the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water.

The successful engagement of the project entails support from the government, primarily in terms of policies for renewable energy.   In this context, the government’s approval of Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (Malaysia Energy Centre) proposal for a new Feed-in Tariff mechanism that provides preferential electricity tariffs as incentive for producers of Renewable Energy Sources is imperative.  

Pending and subject to approval of the Feed-in Tariff policy and the project, Berjaya Solar is expected to commence development of the 10 Megawatt Solar PV power plant in the 2^nd half of 2010 to be commissioned by 2011.  The plant will be developed over a 50 hectares site, and is capable of generating power to supply electricity to 3,000 homes. The power generated will be connected to the national grid to supply electricity nationwide.

The project is expected to draw global green-technology expertise to Malaysia, creating a new industry. The spin-offs from this are the transfer of technology and a positive impact on the local job market.

The abundance of solar irradiation in this region is a strong impetus, and Berjaya Solar sees great potential in solar source as the nation’s main source of supplemental energy, to reduce the nation’s dependency on fossil fuel energy. Unlike fossil fuels, Solar PV is able to create energy solutions that are environmentally friendly, during operation and after decommissioning, leading to a greener and sustainable environment.

This flagship undertaking is in line with the Government of Malaysia’s green energy policy, and will keep Malaysia abreast with other ASEAN countries embarking on similar solar projects.

For further information, please contact Mr. Peter Wong of Berjaya Solar Sdn Bhd at          016-2018708

Toyota said Tue it is recalling 437,000 Prius, hybrids(update)

Toyota, takes a good effort on green technology deployment. They really have guts. To fast to push into market also not good. Better still then just wait for others to make a move. Lesson learnt to Malaysian Company, others makes things happened rather than makes blame to be happened. Applause to Toyota and Ford for their positive efforts.

Published: Tuesday February 9, 2010 MYT 12:17:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday February 9, 2010 MYT 3:00:54 PM

TOKYO: Toyota says it is recalling about 437,000 Prius and other hybrid cars worldwide to fix brake problems - the latest in a string of embarrassing safety problems at the world's largest automaker. Company President Akio Toyoda made the recall announcement Tuesday afternoon at a press conference.
"We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority," Toyoda said.

Toyota Motor Corp. Managing Officer Hiroyuki Yokoyama, right, bows after submitting the company's formal recall notice for its 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid and two other hybrid models to Ryuji Masuno, director general of the Road Transport Bureau of the Transport Ministry, at the ministry in Tokyo, Tuesday. Toyota is recalling nearly 200,000 of its signature Prius green cars in Japan for braking problems, the latest in a string of embarrassing safety problems at the world's largest automaker. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

There have been about 200 complaints in Japan and the U.S. about a delay when the brakes in the Prius were pressed in some conditions. - AP
Earlier report
TOKYO: Toyota is recalling about 170,000 Prius hybrid cars in Japan for braking problems and will soon disclose its global plans for a fix as the automaker scrambles to repair damage to its reputation from a spate of safety problems.
Toyota's president Akio Toyoda will hold a news conference at the automaker's Tokyo office later Tuesday to outline details of the braking problem, including plans for a possible recall in the U.S., a company official told The Associated Press.
The number of Priuses being recalled would swell to about 300,000 if there is a recall in the U.S. and other regions.
The braking problem for the third-generation remodeled Prius is the latest safety woe for Toyota, which is already trying to fix problems in millions of vehicles recalled for other defects, including a sticky gas pedal.
Toyota Motor Corp. said it will inform the Transport Ministry later in the day it is recalling the 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid - the world's top-selling hybrid car.
Also being recalled are two other hybrid models - the Lexus HS250h sedan, sold in the U.S. and Japan, and the Sai, which is sold only in Japan.
U.S. safety officials have launched an investigation into problems with the brakes.
The recall in Japan will cover about 170,000 of the 2010 model Prius, which went on sale in May.
The automaker has fixed the programming glitch in Prius models that went on sale since last month, but had done nothing yet on the cars sold before then, according to Toyota.
There have been nearly 200 complaints in Japan and the U.S. of drivers experiencing a short delay before the brakes kick in - a problem that can be fixed with a software programming change.
The delay doesn't indicate a brake failure.
The problem is suspected in four crashes resulting in two minor injuries, according to data gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is investigating the matter.
Toyota says it's cooperating with NHTSA's investigation.
Toyota said its plug-in hybrid is also being recalled in Japan - a largely experimental model for rental and government use in limited numbers, and isn't on mass commercial sale.
Toyota is in the midst of repairing 5 million vehicles recalled in the U.S. because of problems with floor mats, which can trap gas pedals.
It also has recalled 2.3 million vehicles because of concerns that their gas pedals are slow to return to the idle position.
The 2010 Prius wasn't part of either recall.
Problems with hybrid braking systems haven't been limited to Toyota.
Ford Motor Co. said last week it plans to fix 17,600 Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion gas-electric hybrids because of a software problem that can give drivers the impression that the brakes have failed.
The automaker says the problem occurs in transition between two braking systems and at no time are drivers without brakes.
The Prius was not Toyota's top-selling model in the U.S., where the company sold 140,000 last year, far less than the 357,000 Camrys.
But it holds a cherished spot in its lineup and is symbolic of Toyota's leadership in the "green" car market.
Toyota was one of the first companies to mass-market a hybrid that combines an electric motor with a gas engine, introducing the Prius in Japan in 1997.
Its high gas mileage made it popular among environmentally conscious drivers, especially when gas prices spiked two years ago.
But the complexity of the Prius, a highly computerized car, has led to problems in the past.
In 2005, the company repaired 75,000 of them to fix software glitches that caused the engine to stall.
It has also had trouble with headlights going out. - AP

Plenty of gas, but what to do with the foul byproduct?

The Star :Published: Monday February 8, 2010 MYT 9:37:00 AM

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania: A drilling technique that is beginning to unlock staggering quantities of natural gas underneath Appalachia also yields a troubling byproduct: powerfully briny wastewater that can kill fish and give tap water a foul taste and odor.
With fortunes, water quality and cheap energy hanging in the balance, exploration companies, scientists and entrepreneurs are scrambling for an economical way to recycle the wastewater.
"Everybody and his brother is trying to come up with the 11 herbs and spices," said Nicholas DeMarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association.
Drilling crews across the country have been flocking since late 2008 to the Marcellus Shale, a rock bed the size of Greece that lies about 6,000 feet beneath New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.
Geologists say it could become the most productive natural gas field in the U.S., capable of supplying the entire country's needs for up to two decades by some estimates.
Before that can happen, the industry is realizing that it must solve the challenge of what to do with its wastewater.
As a result, the Marcellus Shale in on its way to being the nation's first gas field where drilling water is widely reused.
The polluted water comes from a drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," in which millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are blasted into each well to fracture tightly compacted shale and release trapped natural gas.
Fracking has been around for decades.
But the drilling companies are now using it in conjunction with a new horizontal drilling technique they brought to Appalachia after it was proven in the 1990s to be effective on a shale formation beneath Texas.
Fracking a horizontal well costs more money and uses more water, but it produces more natural gas from shale than a traditional vertical well.
Once the rock is fractured, some of the water - estimates range from 15 to 40 percent - comes back up the well.
When it does, it can be five times saltier than seawater and laden with dissolved solids such as sulfates and chlorides, which conventional sewage and drinking water treatment plants aren't equipped to remove.
At first, many drilling companies hauled away the wastewater in tanker trucks to sewage treatment plants that processed the water and discharged it into rivers - the same rivers from which water utilities then drew drinking water.
But in October 2008, something happened that stunned environmental regulators: The levels of dissolved solids spiked above government standards in southwestern Pennsylvania's Monongahela River, a source of drinking water for more than 700,000 people.
Regulators said the brine posed no serious threat to human health.
But the area's tap water carried an unpleasant gritty or earthy taste and smell and left a white film on dishes.
And industrial users noticed corrosive deposits on valuable machinery.
One 11-year-old suburban Pittsburgh boy with an allergy to sulfates, Jay Miller, developed hives that itched for two weeks until his mother learned about the Monongahela's pollution and switched him to bottled or filtered water.
No harm to aquatic life was reported, though high levels of salts and other minerals can kill fish and other creatures, regulators say.
Pennsylvania officials immediately ordered five sewage treatment plants on the Monongahela or its tributaries to sharply limit the amount of frack water they accepted to 1 percent of their daily flow.
"It is a very great risk that what happened on the Monongahela could happen in many watersheds," said Ronald Furlan, a wastewater treatment official for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
"And so that's why we're trying to pre-empt and get ahead of it to ensure it doesn't happen again."
Regulators in Pennsylvania are trying to push through a new standard for the level of dissolved solids in water released from a treatment plant.
West Virginia authorities, meanwhile, have asked sewage treatment plants not to accept frack water while the state develops an approach to regulating dissolved solids.
And in New York, fracking is largely on hold while companies await a new set of state permitting guidelines.
For now, the Marcellus Shale exploration is in its infancy.
Terry Engelder, a geoscientist at Penn State University, estimates the reserve could yield as much as 489 trillion cubic feet of gas.
To date, the industry's production from Pennsylvania, where drilling is most active, is approaching 100 billion cubic feet.
Wastewater from drilling has not threatened plans to develop the nation's other gas reserves.
Brine is injected into deep underground wells in places such as Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma, or left in evaporation ponds in arid states such as Colorado and Wyoming.
However, many doubt the hard Appalachian geology is porous enough to absorb all the wastewater, and the climate is too humid for evaporating ponds.
That leaves recycling as the most obvious option.
Entrepreneurs are marketing portable systems that distill frack water at the well site.
Also, in southwestern Pennsylvania, Range Resources Corp., one of the gas field's most active operators, pipes wastewater into a central holding pond, dilutes it with fresh water and reuses it for fracking.
Range says the practice saves about $200,000 per well, or about 5 percent.
In addition, a $15 million treatment plant that distills frack water is opening in Fairmont, W.Va. The 200,000 gallons it can treat each day can then be trucked back for use at a new drilling site.
For years, regulators let sewage treatment plants take mining and drilling wastewater under the assumption that rivers would safely dilute.
But fracking a horizontal well requires huge amounts of water - up to 5 million gallons per well, compared with 50,000 gallons in some conventional wells.
"In this case," said John Keeling of MSES Consultants, which designed the Fairmont plant, "dilution is not the solution to pollution." - AP