features
Micro hybrid power system set to bring light, hope to Sarawak village
Julian Austin a volunteer from Engineers without Borders and James Sabatin from Tonibung install solar panels on the womens’ socioeconomic centre at Tanjung Tepalit. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Renai Mattu, November 17, 2015.It’s a bumpy four hour ride on windy logging roads from Miri to the village of Lepo Gah Tanjung Tepalit about 200km away. You can't really call to tell anyone you are on the way as there is no network coverage.
A traditional wooden longhouse greets you and with the searing, almost unbearable, pain you're feeling in your buttocks from the rough road, you are likely to be very glad to see it.
End of year celebrations are festive here as the kampung is brought to life with sons and daughters returning home from Miri with grandchildren.
As families have expanded, so too has the longhouse. A new wing in various stages of construction is going up. Still connected in parts like a traditional longhouse, the modern day extension is concrete and shiny tiled. Homes are completed with modern conveniences like lights, fans, hot water systems, washing machines, television sets and even karaoke systems.
There is one small problem however. There is rarely any electricity to power these modern luxuries.
The task of electrifying Sarawak is no mean feat. Hampered by a lack of infrastructure, Malaysia’s largest state by land mass remains without constant supply of power in rural areas with a reported 33% of the state remaining off the grid.
Households in Tanjung Tepalit rely on diesel generators to provide the much-needed spark of electrical current. Each door of the longhouse will usually have its own diesel generator and despite government subsidy on fuel, powering homes is a costly endeavor.
According to a recent study by the University of California Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, a household in this village will use around 83kWh of diesel generated electricity per month compared to a household in urban Sarawak which uses 205kWh/month.
That works out to a cost of about RM200 a month on fuel per household, as compared to an RM80 electricity bill for a household in the city.
It is an exorbitant cost to the residents who mostly rely on subsistence farming for their day-to-day needs.
But local NGOs Jaringan Orang asal SeMalaysia (Joas) and Friends of Village Development (Tonibung) are hoping to spark some changes in Sarawak's rural areas, including this tiny village.
Along with funding from a Small Projects Grant from the UNDP, volunteers are hoping to light up all of Tanjung Tepalit by Christmas thanks to the installation of a solar microhydro-powered hybrid system, the first of its kind in Sarawak.
An estimated 8kWh of energy generated from 20 solar panels and a micro hydrosystem set up at a river nearby will be channeled to light up the village, and hopefully give a boost to local community groups working to raise their families' level of income.
Tanjung Tepalit resident, Dellie, shows off her chillies. Dellie says with the help of the new hybrid power system, women in the village plan to make chilli powder for mass production. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Renai Mattu, November 17, 2015.“Once we have the electricity we can start making banana and cassava kerepeh (keropok)," says Dellie Sulau Balan one of the members of the community's womens’ group Biro Kaum Wanita Lepo’ Gah.
"We also plan to grow chilli, dry it, blend it using the electricity and pack it for sale. We will even use plastic bags with a chop “Tanjong Tepalit” on it. We have lots of ideas on how to use the electricity to earn some money,” she said excitedly .
Tonibung, which has been involved in projects to electrify rural villages in Sabah and Sarawak since 2001, has so far installed 20 microhydro projects with help from volunteers.
This particular project has been successful in securing UNDP funding as it addresses three pillars being empowerment of indigenous people, mitigation of climate change through its promotion of green energy systems and conserving biodiversity, said Adrian Lasimbang, executive director of Tonibung.
"We are conserving biodiversity because when you do micro-hydro powered systems, we must protect the watershed. That means ensuring the forests up from the river are kept in tact and the environment preserved," he said.
As the villagers of Tanjung Tepalit wait in eager anticipation for their homes to be lit up next month, the project is also a reinforcement to their beliefs that the Baram Dam project has no place in their community.
The dam, once completed, will flood an area about half the size of Singapore, destroying some 33 villages including Tanjung Telapit.
"We hope that this project is able to show that from this small micro-hydro project we are able to do all this," said Dellie.
"It will show we do not need the mega-dam in Baram, that is unnecessary to move people or flood our homes because this is enough." – November 17, 2015.
Please note that you must sign up with disqus.com before commenting. And, please refrain from comments of a racist, sexist, personal, vulgar or derogatory nature and note that comments can be edited, rewritten for clarity or to avoid questionable issues. As comments are moderated, they may not appear immediately or even on the same day you posted them. We also reserve the right to delete off-topic comments