There is a proposal for Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) to develop two power plants for its Kuala Lumpur regional sewage treatment plant in Pantai Dalam.
A memorandum of agreement was signed between IWK and UniversitiTenaga Nasional at the Asia Water 2012 exhibition, witnessed by Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui.
The partnership paves the way for research and development to be conducted on two pilot projects for a 500 kW biogas and a 50 kW micro hydro-type facilities that will use renewable energy resources.
The Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry has approved RM7.26mil, to be drawn from the Malaysia electricity supply industry trust account, for the research and pilot projects.
“If we had such a biogas facility running at full blast with 10 MW of power, it would be able to provide 25 per cent of the energy needs for our Pantai Dalam sewage treatment plant,” said IWK chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Kadir Mohd Din.
“The idea is that one day the plant can be self-sufficient in terms of energy requirements.”
The Pantai Dalam sewage treatment plant treats wastewater from the Klang Valley’s over one million population.
The sewage treatment processes generate biogas, bioeffluent and biosolids as byproducts.
Meanwhile, Chin reiterated that five states in Peninsular Malaysia, namely Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Perlis and Penang, had signed water restructuring deals with Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB) and migrated to the new licensing regime as part of the National Water Services Industry Restructuring Initiative.
“Perak will follow suit, and Pahang may also do so soon,” he said.
Chin said the states that had restructured their water services industry had seen improved performances.
“For example, the rate of non-revenue water for Malacca was reduced to 26 per cent in 2010, compared with 30.1 per cent in 2008. Syarikat Air Negeri Sembilan Sdn Bhd recorded an increase in its average monthly revenue from RM10.3mil in 2009, to RM12.9mil in 2010,” he said.
The three-day Asia Water 2012 exhibition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre ends tomorrow. It is said to be the region’s largest water industry event.
