Look at your own backyard first before you criticise, SEB CEO tells foregn dam critics

BEIJING, May 21, 2015 - State-owned power provider Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) chief executive officer Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotviet has hit out at critics from developed nations over its efforts to build dams to generate power when their own development was done without much consideration to sustainability.

"SEB  is guided by the International Hydropower Association's Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol in the development of its hydropower projects," he stressed at a plenary session "Development versus Sustainability: How can we find the right balance?" at the 2015 World Hydropower Congress here today.

After Murum dam, the state government has given approval for SEB to build the Baleh and Baram dams, possibly next year.

Murum dam, with a capacity of 944MW, was completed last year and has yet to generate power.

About 1,500 people, comprising the Penan and Kelabit communities, who were displaced by the Murum dam, were resettled in 2013 at Tegulang and Metulun where schools, kindergartens, clinics, electricity and water supplies are provided free by the state government.

The proposed  1,200 MW Baram dam, will affect up to 20,000 indigenous people, while the proposed Baleh dam, which does not cause displacement of people, will have an installed power generation capacity of 1,295 MW.

SEB has received approval for the Baleh SEIA report from state Natural Resources and Environment Board in March this year.

The Baleh dam, which will commence construction next year, is expected to be completed in 2024.

The 2,400-MW Bakun dam developed by Federal Government-owned Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd is the state’s biggest dam.

The Bakun, Murum and proposed Baleh dam are all in the interior of Kapit Division in the central region while Baram dam is in the deep interior of Miri Division.

Sarawak is expected to have a total generating capacity of 7,000 MW by 2025, mainly for heavy industries like aluminium in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) area.

As of now, about RM30b worth of inbound investment is recorded in SCORE.

Currently, the State generation capacity mix comprises 75% hydropower and 25% thermal sources.

By 2020, to ensure an optimal generation capacity mix, hydropower will remain dominant, at around 60% with thermal at 40%.

Torstein said developed countries should support, rather than obstruct, developing countries’ sustainable hydropower development. 

 “Failure to develop is not sustainable. Keeping people poor is just not sustainable,” he said to applause from the audience.

“The disparity in wealth distribution between the developed and developing nations is increasing. For instance, 73% of the global income goes to only 14% of the world’s population. This is not sustainable.

“And 18% of the global population consumes 45% of the world’s energy. This is also not sustainable,” he said.

Torstein also brought up carbon dioxide emissions for which developed nations account for 76% of the world’s greenhouse gases. 

“It is not fair to ask the five billion of the world’s population in the developing countries to clean up the mess we (rich countries) have created over the last 200 years.

"It is the developed countries with the knowledge, resources and money to do so. It is a well acknowledged principle that  polluters pay," he said.

“Hydropower projects have contributed to the wealth of developed nations for more than 100 years and in the developed world, 98% of this (hydropower) development was not done in a sustainable manner.

"The developed world has never followed the stringent rules they now lay out for the developing world” he said.

Torstein said the contribution of hydropower towards the rapid socio-economic development of Sarawak was clearly outlined at the 2015 World Hydropower Congress, organised by the International Hydropower Association (IHA) here.

Torstein’s remarks were broadly aligned with those from several high profile panelists -  Giulio Boccaletti, Global Managing Director for Water, The Nature Conservancy,  Bernard Barandereka, Energy Expert, African Union Commission,  Zhou Jianping, Chief Engineer, Power China and Jamie Skinner, Water Team Leader, International Institute for Environment and Development.

The session was moderated by Doug Smith, Sustainability Specialist, IHA.