Tuesday, January 26, 2010

WHAT A WASTE

The government could have taken a giant leap forward to improve our environment and general well-being this week when they met to discuss two highly pertinent issues namely: what the new renewable energy tariff will be and secondly, whether to adopt a waste to energy strategy for solid waste management rather than continuing to use landfills.  

I'm sad to report however, that they only decided to take a miniscule step forward instead.
That came in the form of an increase in the renewable energy tariff  from 21 sen to 46 sen for converting waste to energy.  Even though  that sounds like a substantial increase, those who are already working in resource recovery say it's still not high enough to really induce companies into this sector and it's a lot less than the incentives the government have bestowed on the IPPs and those involved in the oil and gas industry over the years.

It's also interesting to note that the new tariff is less than many neighbouring governments have set for renewable energy: Indonesia - 60sen, Thailand - 65sen, Singapore - 70sen Cambodia - 48sen.   When it came to setting the tariff for solar energy however, the government showed, quite clearly, that they are not really that interested in this free and limitless source of energy.  At only 20 sen per KW hour, I can't imagine there will be to many companies falling over each other to compete in this arena because at this price, it will be unsustainable. 

When it came to the decision on whether to adopt the waste to energy concept nationwide they opted to do a study instead. 
Hello!  If you know that it's possible to convert garbage into electricity and you don't leap at that, and if you think that dumping it all on landfills is okay, what is your problem?

Part of the problem is that the government has already committed a lot of public money to landfill management companies and although they are talking about harnessing bio gas from the dumps, only a handfull of landfills have actually been designed and built to do this. Most of our landfills are not even lined properly and are leaking leachate into the water system. 

So why does the government seem so reluctant to change? From what I can see, it's because all the people who benefit from the present system have a lot to loose if the old system is transformed. The municipal solid waste business runs like a cartel and the main players see the introduction of the waste to energy concept as being a threat to the status quo; the end to all the mutual back-scratching and pocket-lining that has been going on undisturbed for years.

Waste to energy is a tried and tested technology that converts a large proportion of household waste into RDF (refuse derived fuel) which is then used as replacement fuel in cement kilns and steam turbines. When this is integrated with mechanical and biological processes, more than 80 percent of raw household waste can be recovered, recycled and reused.  Recycle Energy Sdn Bhd, who daily process 700 tons of Kajang's waste,  are currently supplying a large cement factory with this renewable green fuel and generating 8MW of electricity as well as making compost and recycling plastics and metals.  At a conservative estimate of 18,000 tons of waste per day from the whole country, we could be producing about 206 MWs of electricity. This would have three major benefits:
1. It would reduce dependence on timber and fossil fuel. 
2. It would eliminate landfills and
3. It would reduce our carbon footprint

All very pertinent things to be doing post Copenhagen I should have thought.  Wrong again! there are plans afoot right now to build huge coal power plants in Sabah and Sarawak and the whole issue of nuclear energy is still in contention.

Of course processing garbage isn't going to be able to supply all the power needs for the nation, but it can make a significant contribution.  What's required here is a down-sized holistic approach so that instead of thinking about garbage and power on a national scale, we start to think about it more from a local perspective;  smaller plants serving smaller populations and using a combination of technologies in line with BATNEC (best available technology at no excessive cost)  

The government could have taken a giant leap forward  to improve our environment and general well-being this week - but they didn't!




Sunday, January 24, 2010

MUST WATCH MOVIE



Finally got round to watching Yann Arthus-Bertrand's remarkable movie called HOME which contains stunning photography from all over the world.  

A must see for anyone interested in the future of our beautiful planet...and our species.  The movie is about an hour and a half long. 

SARAWAK BENT ON USING COAL FOR POWER

KUCHING: Sarawak could be producing more than 3,300MW of hydro power within the next three years and yet the state Barisan Nasional government is insisting it requires new coal-fire plants to generate more power.

The state’s Second Minister for Planning and Resource Management Awang Tengah Ali Hassan stunned environmentalist by stating that Sarawak needed coal-fired power to complement its hydro power generation, especially in Sarawak’s Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) to meet high demand in energy-intensive industries.

“Yes, we know coal is not renewable energy,” he said in rebuking a claim by the Borneo Resources Institute that the Sarawak government had classified the mining and exploitation of coal reserves under the term of renewable energy projects.

“However, with the combination of resources, coal can be used a as a source of power generation to meet the high demand for power in the energy-intensive industries in the state,” he told reporters after officiating opening the Arcardia Apartments yesterday.


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