Sarawak to persist in exploring alternative energy sources

BY NATASHA JEE & ALLAN JAY

KUCHING: The Sarawak government will continue to explore alternative energy sources as part of its balanced approach to development and economic growth.

Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state is committed to have a balance in terms of its economic pursuit.

“It is stated in our Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 and there are three pillars namely economic prosperity, social inclusivity and environmental sustainability.

“These three pillars will perhaps differentiate Sarawak from the rest. We are having well balanced economic development and growth,” he said.

He said this during a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) and its partners namely Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), and ESG Malaysia held at Hilton Hotel today.

Abang Johari, who is also Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability elaborated on the need to find alternative energy sources to replace fossil fuels.

“The cleanest of all energy is hydrogen. That is why when I took over as your chief executive officer (CEO) of Sarawak, I promoted the idea of hydrogen.

“Some people laughed at me. They had doubts, questioned and said (production) of hydrogen is expensive.

“But, whatever it is, you have to find an alternative solution. If it’s expensive, you have to find out what causes it to be expensive,” he said.

He noted that the expensive cost of producing hydrogen was due to consumption of energy to split the two molecules (oxygen and hydrogen) through electrolyser.

“When we started, it required about 60 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy to produce one kilogramme (kg) of hydrogen,” he said.

He went on to say that with research and technology, the energy required to produce one kg of hydrogen has been reduced from 60 kWh to less than 30 kWh.

“We were discussing with Samsung just now that we have to really be aggressive in terms of research and development to reduce the cost of producing hydrogen.

“We are very fortunate, we have a lot of water resources where water can produce hydrogen. And that is why the Sarawak government has taken the option of producing alternative energy in terms of producing hydrogen.

“And we believe in 10 to 15 years, the cost of producing hydrogen will be getting less and less. With that, we can find a solution, a renewable solution,” asserted Abang Johari.