KUCHING, April 28 – The implementation of the power-generating cascading dams in the hinterland which received objections from the local population will be implemented elsewhere, said Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said that there were reports of some parties objecting to the implementation of the dam project in the river near the residential areas.
“If they disagree, the government will move (the project) to another area. They feel suspicious, if that’s the case we will go to another place, where the people want (the project to be implemented).
“Now we are implementing the project near Sungai Kanowit and Song. In Kapit, they want this cascading source, and we have a new technology that I mentioned as a tank elevator, this depends on the theory of gravity, which means that the flow of water can generate energy,” he told reporters, at the World Water Day 2024 celebration on Sunday.
In another development, Sarawak will not use coal in power generation at the Sejingkat and Balingian power plants, in line with the state’s efforts to develop clean and sustainable energy.
He said that power generation using coal will be replaced with biomass-based energy, where the power generated can reach more than 500MW.
“I think (power plant capacity) Sejinkat can be increased to 1GW, like the technology I saw at Drax Power Station in the United Kingdom (during his recent visit to that country). Drax uses biomass, and in my calculations, we can use the biomass to generate power,” he said.
Previously, Abang Johari reportedly said that Sarawak will use sustainable energy practice models, such as Drax, in an effort to increase its renewable energy generation capacity.
