Basic solar power system for the grid-deprived homes at RM6,500

Many villages in Tuaran (Kiulu constituency) are still without electricity and I wanted to find out if it was possible to install small "phone charging stations" at the community halls (Balai/Dewan Raya), and perhaps a couple of LED lamps to help the folks communicate via cellular phones.

The idea is to purchase solar panel to power up a converter with an output of 150W to 200W, provide battery for energy storage, a couple of USB power outlets and a switch socket outlet (AC power). Installation was intended to by DIY.

I made some inquiries last year to find out what would be the cost in Sabah; I know one can get a better deal in West Malaysia. This is what I got from an e-mailed reply:


Battery/charger/inverter in a single module offered by Green Electric. No mention of brand of the solar panel.


An All-in-One (battery/charger/inverter) 150W output system + 135Wp solar panel.
Battery: Lithium Ion, which is smaller and more environmentally friendly
The cost of the system is RM5,000 and the cost of a single 135Wp solar panel is RM1,500.

The 500Wh System specifications:

• 666Wh lithium-polymer battery 
• Battery charger with state of charge indicator 
• Automatic switch-over circuit 
• Note: Min. 1,500 full charge/discharge cycles 
• 135W solar panel 

Total cost of the solar powered system: RM6,500

The local-based company claimed to have installed quite a lot of them in Tenom and Pitas. As price of solar panel falls further, you can expect to get better pricing this year.

RM1,500 for a 135W solar panel means that the cost per watt is RM11.10 which is pretty steep. I was looking at a mini display at City Mall, Kota Kinabalu the other day and the cost per watt is RM8.00; you can actually buy a 135W solar panel at RM1,080.


About the service providers

Green Electric Sdn Bhd which distributes the DIY kit have installed quite a number of the off-grid solar power systems in Sabah through its system implementer, Compugates Sabah Sdn Bhd. Green Electric acts as designer and consultant, and Compugagates acts as the installer and maintainer of the systems.


TheGreenMechanics: Tthe price offered is expensive. If I were to install a system on a DIY pet project, I would look at a total cost of slightly more than half the price quoted.

Low head run-of-the-river hydro generator

I read that one can generate electricity from flowing river without damming the area and destroying the ecosystem within the hydropower plant. You just need a little bit of head to turn the turbine.

There is a power generator system called run-of-the-river hydropower that researchers and investors found to have emerged as a viable, and is a low-impact alternative to existing large-scale projects.


Low head run-of-the-river and flow-with-the-water system: What are they?

Run-of-the-river facilities use conventional hydropower technology to produce electricity but in this method, the river flow is diverted through turbines that spin generators, then water is returned back to the river downstream.

Perhaps, for R&D purpose, you can also look at flow-with-the-water system where you just put the turbine or water wheel along the rapid or specifically constructed weir to create small head. An example is what I have here:


A 3 m to 4 m head created by the weir. Picture was taken during rainy season when the river swelled. In a worse but rare flood condition, the water channel on the foreground become completely submerged.


In this case, you can perhaps put water wheels or a series of helical wheels across the weir. Or, install several Gorlov helical turbines along the water channel. You can read about Gorlov helical turbine (GHT) here.


Wider view of the water intake, located near one of the government water treatment plants along Tuaran River. This was shot during dry season.


This obviously falls under the jurisdiction of the several government agencies such as Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Department of Water Supply, and Tuaran/Tamparuli Municipal Council. But it is pretty interesting to see if one can find a way to tap energy from the flowing water.

To certain extent, I would be able to tag along and help anyone interested to study the potential of this river. If you are equipment supplier, system integrator, or project consultant with some spare time, or you are someone on the look out for new things, you may want to have a look at this.

Interested? Then pay this site a visit.

SEDA and PHTP (Perak) signed hydro-power training partnership pact

What is small hydro-power

The definition of a small hydro project varies but a generating capacity of up to 10 MW is generally accepted as the upper limit of what can be termed small hydro. We can say it is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale serving a small community or industrial plant. In North America, the generating capacity of small hydro can be stretched up to 30 MW or 50 MW.

Check here for an example of Proposed small hydro-power plants in Tuaran, Sabah.

Small hydro can be further subdivided into mini hydro, usually defined as less than 1,000 kW, and micro hydro which is less than 100 kW. Micro hydro is the one that I am so interested as I have always wanted to power up a small community of about 25 houses in my area.


SEDA approved small hydro-power

In Malaysia, small hydro-power as listed in SEDA Malaysia website, refers to installations with generating capacity of:

1) up to and including 10 MW (tier one)                 - FIT rate: RM0.24/kWh
2) above 10 MW and up to and including 30 MW   - FIT rate: RM0.23/kWh

These will qualify for Renewable Energy FIT for 'Small Hydro' for a period of 21 years from FIT commencement date.

Intake station of Amcorp's 4MW hydro-power plant in Sg. Perting, Pahang. It qualifies for Feed-in Tariff


Partnership: A smart move by Perak government.

While it is commendable that Malaysia rolled out its RE initiatives with by forming  SEDA to administer and manage the implementation of the feed-in tariff mechanism, it does little good if there is no technology transfer.

What Perak did was to get SEDA to actvely involved in its plan to train and maintain one of the RE sources, i.e. small hydro-power. One may say hydro-power has been here for ages, but Perak went the extra mile to go down to the grassroots - preparing the small players in hydro electric power generation.


SEDA to help Perak in hydro-power training

Bernama reported a couple of days ago that SEDA Malaysia has entered into a partnership with the Perak State Development Corporation, via Perak Hi Tech Park (PHTP) Sdn Bhd, to provide training on how to maintain small hydro-power plants.

The introduction of this course will benefit many prospective hydro-power plants developers. Under the partnership, PHTP will source technology experts from Brodarski Institute in Croatia to conduct the inaugural training, the first technical cooperation between Malaysia and Croatia.

SEDA said in a statement:
"One of the gaps identified by SEDA is the need to address the lack of competent human capital in terms of technical knowledge in designing, constructing and maintaining small hydro-power systems in the country. Hence, the collaboration with PHTP is most timely to address this gap".

9.5 MW Mini Hydropower plants in Tuaran?

I was looking for information on how to develop a low-head micro hydro generator and found this proposed 9.5 MW Mini Hydropower plant in the District of Tuaran, on Scribd.

It is very interesting as the river (Sungai Tuaran/Kiulu) has been talked about as a suitable area for developing mini hydropower for sometime now. The salient features of the project is summarised in the following table.

Table 1: Salient features of the project

This working paper was written few years back by Afiepower Sdn Bhd and coffeeshop talk among the population at the affected area has it that the approval for the hydro-power scheme has been given although no confirmation of this from any government agencies or the local authority yet.


Brief facts about the project

Developer             : Afipower Sdn Bhd (JV between Afie Enterprise S/B and H2RM Engineering S/B)
Location                : 20 km Southeast of Tamparuli, on the 3 major tributaries of Tuaran River
                                (Sg. Mantaranau, Sg. Mulau 1 and Sg. Mulau 2)
Cost                      : RM96.9 million
Completion           : Within 24 months
Scheme                : Build-Own-Operate, BOO
Mode of operation   : Run-off-river concept
Latitude/Longitude  : N06°05’028”-05°56’528” and E116°17’308”-116°23’372”
Total catchment area: 230 km sq
EIA report: done, although no documentation seen yet

Installed capacity         : 9.5 MW, consist of:
                                          Sg. Mulau 1: 5 MW
                                          Sg Mantaranau: 2.5 MW
                                          Sg. Mulau 1: 2 MW
Export capacity              : 9.12 MW
Generator rated voltage   : 3.3kV, 50Hz, pf. 0.85
Feeding to SESB line     : transformed 11kW fed to a 11/33kV substation at Kg Pukak
Selling price                  : 19.5 cents/kWh
Licence period               : 21 years (proposed PPA)


You can also get access to this documentation at Scribd by clicking the link below. Enjoy reading:

PROPHO

No diagrams and detailed construction dimensions as these were not uploaded to Scribd by the document uploader.

Hope this is an interesting read for many.

Semporna: Solar power project 70% ready

Soon, residents in remote islands off Semporna will enjoy 24-hour electricity supply.

Works to supply electricity using solar power in seven islands in Semporna is currently 70% completed and is expected to be ready by the middle of 2013. This is according to Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

Islands off Semporna

Semporna is populated by about 137,800 people (2010 census) with majority of them Bajau, many of whom live in stilt villages over the water on the outskirts of the township. Tourists visit Semporna as a base for scuba diving or snorkeling trips to Pulau Sipadan (Sipadan Island) , Pulau Mabul (Mabul Island), and others. Some of the better known islands off Semporna include:

1.   Sipadan island
2.   Mabul island
3.   Mataking island
4.   Kapala island
5.   Sibuan island
6.   Bum Bum island
7.   Pom Pom island
8.   Bohey Dulang island
9.   Si Amil island
10. Mantabuan island

The solar power project costing RM94 million will benefit not only the residents, but also schools involving at least 10,000 students. Solar PV was chosen as energy source as the islands are too far to lay sea cables from the mainland.

Here are some eye teasers:

Sipadan island is a globally renowned diving spot. Photo: Passage 2 Jay Bee

Mabul island is also famous for its diving activities. Photo: themyec.com

Mataking island. Photo: divezone

Many, many places to satiate your diving fantasy. For the non-divers, go for sight seeing and unwind yourself at the world class resorts available at all of the more popular islands.

Mill wastes used to generate renewable energy: Sarawak

According to Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corp (STIDC), major plywood mills in Sarawak are increasingly using wood residues to generate energy for their operations.

That's cool!



There are now 14 biomass plants in Sarawak, which supplied energy for use in the mills. In fact, major timber groups such as Shin Yang, Samling, Rimbunan Hijau, Ta Ann Holdings and KTS all owned biomass plants. Last year the volume of wood residues consumed by these biomass plants was about 1.1 million tonnes. - Sourced The StarBiz.

One of Sarawak's major timber mills - Rimbunan Hujau. Photo: arctracer

Ample supply for biomass fuel

Besides using their own wood residues, some of the mills also sourced wood wastes from smaller mills and other wood processing factories to feed their biomass plants. STIDC figures show that there are 45 plywood mills, 171 sawmills, 21 veneer mills and 34 dowel/moulding mills in Sarawak.

Using wood residues to generate electricity was one effective way to manage wastes so that it will not cause harm to the environment. In the early years in Sabah and Sarawak, wood residues were not utilised economically with much disposed of through open burning, burning in incinerators or dumped into the river causing pollution and other environmental problems.


Generating capacity

KTS group deputy MD, Mr. Lau said an average plywood mill with a monthly output of between 7,000 m3 and 8,000 m3 can generate wood residues to produce between 3MW and 5MW of electricity.

A biomass plant with 3MW capacity will cost between RM10mil and RM15mil to build while the capital investment in a 5MW power plant is between RM20mil and RM30mil. The amount of electricity a biomass plant can generate will depend on the type of technology used.

Lau pointed out that biomass plants were not cheap in terms of maintenance whereby plywood mills with their own biomass plants would still have to pay Syarikat SESCO Bhd, which is owned by Sarawak Energy Bhd for standby electricity based on minimum and maximum demand.


Payback period

Although the one-off capital investment in a biomass plants is huge, the long-term economic returns from energy savings would be substantial if plywood mills had to purchase power from the state grid.

A plywood mill manager said his mill could save between RM400,000 and RM500,000 a month in electricity bill by having its own biomass plant. As such, simple payback period for a 3MW plant is between 2 to 3 years.

That is pretty fast if you ask me.

Renewable energy from acacia tree

The Acacia Manguim is believed to have originated originated from Australia but later distributed to many South East Asian countries, including Malaysia. The plant is highly adaptable and it can invade secondary forests very fast. In some instances this tree species was blamed for erosion of other hardwood specie in Sabah forest.

If you travel from Tamparuli to Ranau this plant is a common sight along the road and in particular as you start ascending and nearing Pekan Nabalu, the site to get your first close up view of the beautiful Mount Kinabalu.

Flower of the Acacia Mangium. | 6mm | f/4.5 | 1/250 sec |

1MW renewable energy

Recently a local daily carried a special report about Sabah Softwood Berhad's (SSB) effort to generate 1 megawatt (MW) of renewable energy from the burning of acacia mangium woodchips. The 1 MW is enough to power the entire operations of one of the estates belong to SSB.

The 1 MW renewable  energy Gasification Plant managed by SSB has been in operation since 2010 and the use of acacia woodchips and  other wastes ensure that the company's operation sites, such as Dumpas Estate achieve almost zero waste.

More than 25,000ha have been planted with tree species, mainly on acacia mangium

[Source: SSB website]

SSB's chipmill is the region's most sophisticated and it is the largest integrated woodchip mill in Sabah and Malaysia. The chipmill is the only mill in the country designed to process high volume of man made forest plantation timber at low cost. The woodchips are mainly exported to Japan, China and a few other countries in South East Asia.

With a well managed operation, SSB's chipmill received the globally recognised Forest Stewardship Council  - "Chain-Of-Custody" (COC) certification for woodchip manufacturing in Accacia Mangium woodchip products. This COC certification provides a guarantee that the production procedures are in place to track raw materials from the source, all stages of processing and eventual distribution.


Gasification Plant

Gasification is a process that converts timber - in the SSB case woodchips - into wood gas, a syngas consisting of atmospheric nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, traces of methane, and other gases, which can then be used to power an internal combustion engine or for other purposes.

In the absence of petroleum, gasification plants can be used to run internal-combustion engines, or gas turbines, using wood which is a renewable resource.

Geothermal project put on hold?

I posted an article about geothermal power plant soon early this year. This renewable energy project is located in Tawau. Everyone knows that Tawau and the East Coast of Sabah in general is currently facing power supply deficiency and power is partly imported from the West Coast.

Latest news: The geothermal project hits a roadblock. It's a shame that this had happened.

Image: TGE site

In a not-so-pleasant news carried by The Borneo Post on Friday May 11, 2012, the RM419 million geothermal power plant project has been put on hold by the Tawau Municipal Council (TMC) pending a meeting between TMC and Tawau Green Energy Sdn Bhd (TGE).

Local media were told that the councilors "did not know anything about the project" and TMC as the local authority was also in the dark.

For the record the Renewable Energy project would help the East Coast in addressing the acute power supply shortage with its 30MW initial production due in 2014. Details are as follows:

Location : Apas Kiri, Tawau
Cost : RM400 million (RM419mil as disclosed to TMC during the briefing)
Generating capacity : 30MW
Energy tapping : via 12 wells, 1800m to 2000m deep
Build up area : 20 hectares
Expected completion : 3 years (due in 2014)
Tenure : 21-year REPPA with SESB

Stakeholders' consultation meeting in July 2011. Image: TGE

Stakeholders' consultation meeting in July 2011. Image: TGE

Awful, awful mistake: Communication gone to the drain?

It is understandable that the affected community would be duly worried about potential environmental mishaps in and around the site, and in every project (water dam, power plant, nuclear facility, etc) the people must be involved in the initial discussions. They are one of the stakeholders for such ventures, albeit not as direct owners. There are now claims that these villagers were not invited to the briefing. I can't believe it; someone is duty-bound to prove it - hopefully the same local media who reported it will take the initiative.

TMC councilors vehemently denied any knowledge of the project. Read about it here. It is difficult to understand that TMC was not informed of significant development right in front of its door step. The proposed site is just 20km away from Tawau town.

TMC president did not state if he too, was in the dark about the proposal. Therefore, we'll take the news at face value and assume that he was duly informed and invited to some of the more important briefings earlier on. In that case, the onus is on him to inform his councilors.

What has gone wrong with our work efficiency?

Let's say these people (councilors, villagers) indeed know nothing about the approved geothermal power project. Who is at fault then? One would probably be quick to point to TGE Sdn Bhd or even SESB. If it is true that way, then I'll say 'serve them right' for the delayed implementation plus liquidated and ascertained damages suffered as a result.

But I wouldn't really buy it. TGE wouldn't want to trade lack of communication for RM419,000,000.00 worth of investment. For that amount of money, the venture has to be done right the first time. And I believe Ir. Andrew Amalados have thought of this long before anyone else raised the issue.


Get on with the 30MW job

If EIA has been carried out to the satisfaction of all stakeholders, with compensation for the folks affected by the land takingover is clearly spelt out, then let the men carry on with the job. Councilors' doubts can be dealt with at the same time. For all we know, the hu-ha hu-ha among the Counsilors could just be due to mis-information. Provide them with the right information.

The proposed 300MW coal-fired power plant has been cancelled for the East Coast and the 64MW turbine generator at Kubota Power Station is not yet available. Let the works on the 30MW sustainable and greener energy source begin.

Small town looks to Renewable Energy

This is very interesting, and inspiring.

Fowler, a small town in Colorado, USA, with a population of slightly over 1,000 have recently became a standard-bearer for towns looking to become green town. It went grid neutral, i.e.,  producing as much or more power than it uses.

Image: city-data.com

How many towns, or even villages around and near you that have population of 1,000? Many, I bet. I know of some villages/towns that span some tens of acres that boost a population of 1,500 and above. We are not particularly interested in the inhabitants but rather lessons we can learn from what the folks did in Fowler.

Fowler's green initiatives

The initial motivation, according to the town's former administrator, Wayne Snider, was to save money but they realised that it was also the potential to create more jobs.

One initiative that came to fruition was a 600 kWp photovoltaic panels at seven sites around the town on municipal property. It was a $1.2 million project that sells the electricity back to Fowler at about half the rate of the current utility. First year saving from this initiative was estimated at $20,000.

Others that have been planned were 2 MWp solar array at the south of the town, and an anaerobic digestion plant that would create 45 jobs which could bring Fowler closer to grid-neutrality. These did not materialise though, after the change in the leadership of the small town lead to changes in the solar rebates policy. Snider has since move to work on similar green projects at other towns in Colorado.

Lessons to learn

With the numerous green campaigns by both public and private sectors in Malaysia, I believe that a large majority of Malaysians would have now become aware of the importance of Renewable Energy and many would like their energy coming from clean energy sources. This can be done less expensively if the appropriate structure is developed. It takes people with an open mind who have a desire to make change for the better.

We know that we can benefit from the recently gazetted Renewable Energy Act 2011, but I feel that sometimes we don't need everything to be legislated for new green ideas to flourish. Fowler is a small town and it is the smaller townships that are more suited for these sort of programmes as they can cut much of the cities red tape.

Lastly, if you have small town that is away from the grid, why not think about combining solar photovoltaic, bio-gas and wind mills to supply small power for the town? It's called decentralised power and it's green!

More lessons can be learn from what Gussing, Burgenland did for its 3,764 or so population.


Note: The Fowler story can be found at Renewable Energy World.

FiT in Sabah has been suspended

This is to recap that the FiT implementation in Sabah has been suspended except for Small Renewable Energy Power (SREP) Programme projects which reached commercial operation date by Dec 31, 2011.

What is FiT

A feed-in tariff (FiT) is a rate of money paid by the government to homeowners or organisations to generate their own electricity through small-scale green energy or renewable energy installations. In Malaysia, renewable resources covered by the FiT includes biogas, biomass, small hydropower, and solar PV.

TNB/SESB to pay grid-connected RE producers. Image: Kolopis Main Intake substation (PMU)

Why the suspension in Sabah?

I read about this in Business Times few days ago whereby SEDA chief executive officer Badriyah Abdul Malek said "It would be justifiable for the Sabah Government to contribute to the RE Fund, following the suspension of FiT implementation there," in a press interview.

I dug for a little bit more and found that earlier in March 2012 The Star reported the same. This means the suspension could have been imposed no longer than 2 months back.

From the few press reports, I can only deduce that the suspension was due to Sabah not contributing to the RE Fund set up by the government when the FiT was implemented in December last year. Sabah government appealed for a delay in RE Fund collection as it would be too taxing on consumers here since electricity tariff has just been increased by about 15% in July 2011.

No contribution, no benefit so it seems.

The eligible SREP I mentioned earlier covers only 5 green power producers as they are already operating commercially, as of December 2011. Total power generated by these RE entities is 36.5MW.

On the same token, the rumoured JV between SEC and SESB to build solar farm mentioned in my article Cypark and TNB signed Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreement, will not metarialise after all. This is somewhat turning into a sad ending.

We can still participate in the FiT

What we can do is simply contribute to the Renewable Energy (RE) Fund. The heavy energy users in Sabah has not yet been levied for the energy consumed and as it was the State Government who appealed for delay of the RE Fund collection, it is just fair that the same government shoulder the obligation to contribute.

As per the Chief Minister's recent 2012 budget presentation Sabah seem to have a lot of money in its reserve coffer. Use it.

As SEDA CEO mentioned, it is not fair that only industry players (heavy energy consumers) in Peninsula Malaysia are being levied but not consumers in Sabah.