Solar push alone insufficient to fix Sabah’s power woes, says rep

SANDAKAN (Feb 15): Concerns are mounting over whether Sabah’s latest push into solar energy will be sufficient to resolve the state’s long-standing electricity supply shortages.

Tanjong Papat assemblyman Alex Thien said the issue remains particularly pressing along Sabah’s East Coast, where recurring generation shortfalls continue to trigger supply disruptions.

While welcoming the shift towards cleaner power generation, Thien cautioned that the current scale of solar deployment remains too small to address Sabah’s structural energy deficit.

“Solar is a positive step, but 28MW (megawatt) of capacity is simply insufficient to fix Sabah’s structural electricity deficit, particularly on the East Coast where generation shortfalls have repeatedly affected reliability,” he said.

His remarks followed the recent launch of Sabah’s first floating solar power plant at Babagon Dam, which has a capacity of 13.2MW, alongside a 15MW ground-mounted solar farm in Sandakan.

Together, the projects contribute 28.2MW of renewable energy to the state’s grid.

Thien stressed that Sabah urgently needs larger baseload power solutions, particularly hydroelectric schemes, to ensure continuous generation and grid stability.

“Hydro can supply round-the-clock electricity, unlike solar which only operates during the day. It helps stabilise grid frequency and reserve margins more effectively than intermittent sources alone,” he said.

While agreeing that solar should form part of a balanced energy mix, he said the scale of projects announced thus far does not adequately address Sabah’s deep-rooted supply challenges.

Thien also raised concerns over the reported cost of the Babagon Dam project.

He pointed out that the typical large-scale solar developments in Malaysia range between RM2.5mil and RM3.5mil per megawatt, whereas the project was reportedly priced at more than RM4.7mil per megawatt.

“For a publicly funded energy project, return on investment matters,” he said.

“We need clarity on why this cost premium exists, what the expected payback period is, the internal rate of return assumed, and whether public funds, loans or grants were used.”
He further emphasised the need for accompanying infrastructure including battery energy storage systems, to manage solar intermittency, and called for a broader, systems-level energy roadmap.

“Robust energy security requires hydro, gas, grid strengthening, cross-border links and storage working in concert.

“Solar should be scaled under transparent procurement, competitive pricing and resilience targets, especially for Sabah’s East Coast where deficits are most acute,” he said.