Any proposed coal-fired plant in Sabah should not be branded as “clean” as no such facility exists in the world at present, a group here said.
A coalition of five non-governmental organisations which called themselves Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future or Green SURF said the term “clean coal” should refer only to the idea of building coal plants that capture carbon emissions and then store the carbon underground.
“This is a dream for the future, not a present reality. No plant of this kind exists anywhere in the world yet. The proposed coal-fired plant in Sabah, like every other coal plant in the world, will not be able to capture and store carbon.
“At best, reports show such a facility will only come on stream in 2030,” Green SURF said in a statement here Wednesday.
The group said this in response to the use of the term “clean coal technology” by the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry, apart from Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Lahad Datu Energy Sdn Bhd, the company handling the proposed coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu.
Green SURF further explained that having basic controls on emissions of certain gases and on wastewater, does not make a coal plant clean.
Green SURF also quoted an article in TIME magazine on Jan 10, 2009 which reported that there was currently no economical way to capture and sequester carbon emissions from coal, and that experts doubt there would ever be.
“Numerous reports have also pointed out that the cost of generating power from coal using carbon capture technology will be significantly higher.
“The cost and energy just to produce clean coal would make using coal…more expensive than using wind, solar and other renewables,” it added.
Green SURF members are World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia, Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP), Sabah Environment Protection Association (SEPA), Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS) and the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Sabah branch.
