NEWS & UPDATES
Sarawak Energy Powers Up Tanjung Datu National Park And Two Turtle Islands
State power utility and energy developer to partner Sarawak Forestry’s turtle conservation efforts.
KUCHING, 28TH MARCH 2017, TUESDAY: Sarawak Energy has formalised an agreement with Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) to work in partnership to enhance the latter’s turtle conservation programme and promote ecotourism at turtle landing sites Tanjung Datu National Park, Pulau Talang-Talang Besar and Pulau Talang-Talang Kechil.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed today in the presence of the Chief Minister of Sarawak Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Datuk Abang Openg to confirm Sarawak Energy’s intent to provide the sanctuaries with green energy via solar centralised system.
The MOU also includes other areas of cooperation with SFC such as to allow Sarawak Energy to evaluate new solar technologies for potential applications at remote and rural areas.
The signatories for the MOU were Sharbini Suhaili, Sarawak Energy Group Chief Executive Officer and Wong Ting Chung, Sarawak Forestry Chief Executive Officer. Aisah Eden, Sarawak Energy Executive Vice President for Corporate Services and Oswald Bracken Tisen, Head of Protected Areas and Biodiversity Conservation were witnesses.
Also present at the signing were Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, Minister of Public Utilities, Dr Haji Abdul Rahman Junaidi, Assistant Minister for Public Utilities (Electricity and Telecommunications), Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn, Assistant Minister for Public Utilities (Water Supply), Sarawak Energy’s Chairman Datuk Amar Abdul Hamed Sepawi and the corporation’s board members.
Commenting on the collaboration, Sharbini said sustainability underpinned Sarawak Energy’s business, operations and interactions with the community.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, Sarawak Energy is pleased to be able to help provide electricity to Tanjung Datu National Park and the two turtle islands of Pulau Talang-Talang Besar and Pulau Talang-Talang Kechil by providing a green source of energy free from carbon emission to these protected areas, replacing noisy diesel generators making it more conducive for turtle conservation” he said.
Sarawak Energy will connect Tanjung Datu National Park with 10kW of solar power, Pulau Talang-Talang Besar (8kW) and Pulau Talang-Talang Kechil (6kW). The three turtle sanctuaries currently use diesel generators with restricted hours of operation coupled with high maintenance costs.
Meanwhile Wong said,” SFC is fortunate to have Sarawak Energy as a partner, first in biodiversity conservation and now in ecotourism development as exemplified by this joint undertaking at Talang Satang National Park. We believe that this is because, like SFC, they are truly committed to sustainability in its many manifestations. We hope other corporations will step up and be active corporate sponsors by donating not just money, but also energy and resources like Sarawak Energy.”
Sarawak Energy will also train the parks’ rangers on the operation and maintenance of the system. The technical team will continue to attend to breakdowns, do periodical inspection and scheduled maintenance as required.
In 2016, members of Sarawak Energy Group Executive Committee (GEC) made personal commitments to support turtle conservation by sponsoring the conservation of turtles through SFC's turtles adoption programme.
Sarawak Energy is engaging in this project to promote the use of renewable energy and support the management of turtle hatcheries in the area.
Sarawak Energy’s engineers from the Research and Development (R&D) Department volunteered to initiate the solar scheme, and took it upon themselves to do the ground work and execute the project in an effort to cultivate the mindset of being a socially responsible citizen and volunteerism within the organisation.
Prior to this, Sarawak Energy has collaborated with SFC in environmental conservation on Wildlife Monitoring and Rescue (WiMOR) operation. WiMOR is designed to conserve wildlife, flora and fauna within the Murum Hydroelectric Project area.
In addition, Sarawak Energy also collaborated with SFC on the Murum Tagang system, a system designed to protect the fish species in the Murum area. These initiatives are part of Sarawak Energy’s broader sustainability agenda for hydropower development, particularly in terms of managing its impact to the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem in the project-affected area and in ensuring that biodiversity impacts arising from the project activities are managed responsibly.
The MOU signing follows a special briefing session during which Johari was updated on Sarawak Energy’s business and operations. This was Johari’s first visit to Menara Sarawak Energy in his capacity as Chief Minister of Sarawak.
