Sustainable energy touted to boost economic devt
KOTA KINABALU: Sustainable energy will not only reap environmental benefits for the country but will also enhance the country's economic development and energy security.
Speaking at SESB's Sustainable Energy Convention yesterday, Wong Tin Song, who is the Under Secretary for the (Sustainable Energy Division) Energy Sector of the Ministry of Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) stressed that the said concept would ignite Malaysia's tremendous economical potential.
“Sustainable energy will tap Malaysia's potential and develop a competitive sustainable energy industry,” Wong said in his presentation entitled ‘An Overview of the National Sustainable Energy Framework' during the convention yesterday.
“The environmental impact of sustainable energy is that it can reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses and it can also mitigate the impact of global warming.”
Wong said sustainable energy could be divided into two key components, namely renewable energy and energy efficiency.
He defined sustainable energy as ‘the provision of energy such that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs'.
In terms of energy security, the concept of sustainable energy will ensure the resilience of Malaysia's energy supply by reducing dependence on imported sources of fuel.
Other than that, the practice of sustainable energy can also foster a sustainable development as the practice can reduce dependence on rapidly depleting fossil fuels.
To move towards the usage of sustainable energy, Wong has proposed numerous resolutions to the various industries in Sabah, namely to introduce Enhanced Time of Use (EToU) with three different time zones, to abolish Special Industrial Tariff (SIT), to install four million smart meters and to increase on-grid cogeneration capacity of 100 MW or more by reviewing utility standby charges.
In addition, Wong also proposed that buildings in the state should achieve 700 Registered Electrical Energy Manager (Reem) and to extend Energy Performance Contracting to other government buildings.
He also said all new government buildings should adopt new energy efficient designs.
The 200 attendees of the convention also sat through two other talks on ‘Malaysia Grid and Distribution Code' and ‘The Mechanism of NEM Scheme'.
The two talks were presented by Muhammad Ifwan Mohd Rais of the Energy Commission and Azah Ahmad of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority of Malaysia (Seda).