NEWS & UPDATES

KUCHING, 11th FEBRUARY 2015, WEDNESDAY:  In gearing up its sustainability initiatives, Sarawak Energy launched its first batch of electric vehicles (EV) for the company's corporate use.  

The company’s first two EVs, was showcased today during the launch of Sarawak Energy’s EV Demonstration Project by Sarawak Energy Chief Executive Officer Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotveit.

The launch was held in conjunction with Sarawak Energy's Leadership Conference at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.

The Nissan Leaf EVs will play an integral part in the company’s learning curve to showcase the advancement of EV technology as well as to study its suitability for daily usage in Sarawak.

The remaining two EVs are expected to be delivered by the middle of this year, making it a total of four.

In his speech, Datuk Torstein said many governments around the world have looked towards energy efficient vehicles as a proactive measure to reducing carbon emissions. This has seen new policies being enacted, incentives to reduce the cost of purchasing an EV as well as promoting and setting up of EV charging facilities among others.

“The number of cars on the road globally is increasing. There needs to be a concerted effort to move towards energy efficient vehicles if we are to play our part in promoting sustainability,” he said.

He said this was also in line with Malaysia’s vision to becoming an energy efficient vehicle hub, where according to the National Automotive Policy (NAP) 2014 it is targeted that around 85% of vehicles produced in Malaysia in 2020 will be energy efficient.

Other than increased awareness on environmental issues, he said depleting fossil fuels is also a determining factor for countries to consider energy efficient vehicles.

“Sarawak Energy will continue to explore ways on how best to promote and incorporate sustainability in the company’s processes and operations. This is aligned with our own vision for sustainable growth and prosperity for Sarawak by meeting the region’s need for reliable, renewable energy,” he said.

Datuk Torstein said the company has gained ground in working towards this vision having received a number of top accolades at the 6th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Environmental Award (CMEA) 2014 for its facilities as well as recently training its first team of in-house sustainability protocol assessors.

He said the EVs would complement its headquarters, Menara Sarawak Energy, which is also the first green building in East Malaysia.

The EVs, to be driven by staff, would also be used in Sarawak Energy’s campaign to support its go green initiatives as well as road safety campaigns.

There will be three charging facilities available for the EVs: at Sarawak Energy Headquarters, the company’s transport division at Bintawa and at Edaran Tan Chong Motor Kuching 3S Centre.

 The project is also meant to enable Sarawak Energy to compile necessary data on charging requirements of an EV in the event there is a rise in market demand for these cars in future.

 With considerably higher efficiency, EV costs less to run when compared to conventional vehicles based on cost per kilometre basis. These green vehicles travelling range exceeds 100km per single charge which is adequate for daily use. Today, commercially available EVs can also travel more than 400km per full charge.

The cars do not have an exhaust system and do not create any direct pollution or emissions that could contribute to global warming, as long as the electricity used to power it comes from clean and renewable resources.

Sarawak derives more than 70% of its electricity from renewable hydropower and therefore presents an ideal condition for EVs.