Save Sabah!

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=72645

Detailed EIA report is flawed: Sepa

Lahad Datu: The Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa) Thursday refuted the accuracy of information in the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) prepared by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) on the proposed coal-fired power plant for Sinakut here.

Its President, Wong Tack, said the report prepared last January was meant to be handed to Lahad Datu Energy, the company that would build the power plant, before it was sent to the Department of Environment (DOE) for verification.

After reading thorough the report, Sepa found the contents to be full of wrong information while several important details were also not included “on purpose to confuse the public.”

“We have our own panel who went thorough the report which we considered as more in favour of the proposed coal-fired power plant.

“We (Sepa) want them to know that we are among those who do not accept the accuracy/authenticity of the information in the said report and ready to take serious action to object it,” he said.

He said Sepa will take a legal action if the DOE approves the proposed coal-fired power plant and would also lodge a police report because “there are negative impacts than good will come up in the long-term (if the plant is built and operational).”

He said the Sandakan Anti-Coal Committee fully supports the effort by Sepa against building a coal-fired power plant not only in Felda, but throughout Sabah.

He said Sepa was not alone in this but had a good relationship with international-based NGOs which are serious in environmental protection.

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http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/38648

Mr. Stephen Wong invite EVERYONE to come forward for a dialog & discussion with Mr. Wong Tak regarding the above DEIA report soon to be released .

Please come forward now to show your support before its too late and regretted why you didn’t come forward to help.

Date : 19th May 2010 ( Wednesday )

Time : 7.30 pm sharp

venue : Chinese Chamber of Commerce , Sandakan .

Thank You

Regards

www.savesabah.com/blog

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hi all,
Please find a link below to a just released report ‘Clean Energy Options for Sabah’ by Prof Dr Daniel M. Kammen of RAEL Laboratory, who headed the Berkeley team.

This report was handed out to the public at the energy forum in KK on saturday so i assume its ok to please spread it far & wide. I’ve uploaded it on to yousendit.com this will only be valid for 7 days from now.

I hope it will be dissected by all and will assist the Sabah and Federal governments, TNB/SESB, the IPPs, the corporate investment sectors and the general public to find solutionS and a way forward for Sabah’s decades long power woes.

TNB/SESB can not be expected to do this alone.

Please download the report here:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=843907389&email=46b18fb006af6a9e68567de8463cdb02

PLEASE DO SEND IT FAR & WIDE TO THOSE THAT MAY BE INTERESTED!

Also here’s a short video on Malaysiakini TV of a Prof Dr Daniel M. Kammen who headed the Berkeley team speaking…

http://www.malaysiakini.tv/video/18759/prof-dr-daniel-m-kammen-a-leading-international-expert-talking-on-energy-options-for-sabah.html

Here’s a report in today’s Star newspaper: Renewable energy from palm oil waste
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/22/nation/5908920&sec=nation

i STILL have questions!!!
- Whats the feasibility of Sabah state organisations (Yayasan Sabah??) setting up a grid operation company to alleviate TNB’s issue of bringing power to the grid. Assuming it has any traction, this then allows to press for connection to the west coast grid and thereby makes the coal plant permanently redundant??

- Also how come the West-East Grid that has a high transfer capability (sorry i cant remember the numbers off hand – is in the report) is currently only transfering 50MW from the West to East coast?

- Also what happened to the shelved ‘Southern Grid’ that was proposed several years ago to support the West-East Grid – should be made a priority, brought forward no?

- The Coal Plant has a life span of 25 years. Then what?

- Why also was Sarawak’s offer to sell power to Sabah turned down by TNB/SESB? According to Malaysia plan this & that the Sabah/Sarawak power grids are suppose to be interconnected into The East Malaysian Grid with further plans to connect to West Malaysia & thus create a nation wide Malaysia Power Grid, why wasn’t this grid to Sabah started years ago when it was first proposed as one of the justifications for the construction of Bakun Dam?

The coal plant to me feels like a distraction to REAL & long term power solutions.

Small localised biomass RE plants on Sabah’s east coast will ease the power woes there in the immediate future (SREP must scrap the 10MW RE cap) and DE-CENTRALISED RE plants and small mini hydro projects will also help stabilise the east coast as we wait for Sabah’s power grid to be upgraded & as we wait for the baseload Kimanis gas plant to be finished in the short term (same time span as waiting for the coal plant).

Do please share your thoughts?

Power to the People!!!

many thanks,
i-lann

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By RUBEN SARIO

KOTA KINABALU: An initial environmental report on a proposed 300mW coal fired plant on the state’s east coast has drawn concern from various Sabah groups, who say it is full of shortcomings.

Among others, the Terms of Reference for the project at the Felda Sahabat scheme appears to have ignored the long-term impact of the coal plant’s emissions into the pristine Darvel Bay.

This is especially important as several kilometres away from the proposed coal plant site in the bay is a sea grass area that is the habitat for the endangered dugong or sea cow.

Sabah Environmental Protection Association president Wong Tack said this was one of the findings at a first review conducted on the project’s Terms of Reference at the Department of Environment in Putrajaya on Nov 24.

“The Terms of Reference showed there was no study carried out on the cumulative effects of the coal plant emissions over a five to 15-year period.

“What is ironic is that the Darvel Bay is within the Coral Triangle Initiative which Malaysia has pledged to conserve,” he said here Sunday.

The Prime Minister had attended the summit on the Coral Triangle Initiative, dubbed the “Amazon of the Oceans,” in May and pledged USD1mil (RM3.4mil) to its protection.

Wong said at the review, state government officials had also voiced concerns that the emissions could have adverse impact on the Tun Sakaran marine park and world renowned diving haven of Pulau Sipadan over the long term.

He said the Terms of Reference was also drawn up based on climate conditions in the Tawau district – more than 200km away – and not within the Tengku area, the proposed site for the coal plant.

Wong said this was critical as the Tabin Wildlife Conservation area – home to Borneo Pygmy elephants, rhinos, orang utan and sun bears – was just 20km away.

He claimed that the consultants responsible for the Terms of Reference appeared not to have obtained feedback from state officials nor explored any alternative to the coal plant.

“Yet, we have a natural gas fired plant in Kimanis coming up and while a 300mW biomass power plant is not practical, it doesn’t mean we can’t have such smaller plants in the various districts,” he added.

Wong was among three Sepa representatives at the review that was also attended by officials from the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, Wildlife, state Environmental Protection, Forestry, Fisheries and Health Departments as well as Sabah Parks and the Lahad Datu district office.

Sepa was also representing Green Surf, which is a coalition of various groups including WWF-Sabah, Malaysian Nature Society, Land Empowerment, Animal and People, and Pacos Trust, at the review.

http://www.thestar.com.my:80/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/29/nation/20091129175502&sec=nationh

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