One thing is clear: fossil fuels are not renewable and Malaysia does not have a clear plan to meet its future energy needs.
Hydro-electricity has unacceptable long-term environmental impacts. Bakun is not going to solve all our energy problems. Petronas cannot fuel Malaysia forever. However, these are not notions Malaysian politicians like to hear.
A few months ago, at a public forum, I told Datuk Mustapa Mohamed (now Higher Education Minister) that Malaysia should put policies in place to make oil companies like Petronas obsolete.
His dismissed my suggestion as a pipedream. Last week, Mona Sahlin, Sweden's minister of sustainable development said "Our dependency on oil should be broken by 2020," announcing Sweden's hopes to wean itself off fossil fuels completely within 15 years, without building more nuclear plants, by expanding its extensive renewables programme.
In 1980, amid heightened fears over nuclear power, Sweden decided to phase out nuclear power, though its closure programme has been delayed several times. Like Malaysia, a large proportion of Sweden's electricity is generated by hydro-electric power, but Stockholm had decided in the 1960s and 70s to increase nuclear capacity to reduce dependence on oil.
The Scandinavian country, which was hard hit by oil price rises in the 1970s, now gets the majority of its electricity from 10 nuclear reactors and hydro-electric power. In 2003, 26% of all energy consumed came from renewables, compared with an EU average of 6%.
Western Europe has the most developed wind-power sector in the world, with Denmark now getting about 19% of its power demand from the wind and aims to increase this to 25% in 2008.
Malaysia, despite spending billions on projects like Puspati and MINT, still does not generate any electricity fron nuclear energy. Europe's most enthusiastic devotee of nuclear power, France, generates 78% of its electricity needs from 59 working nuclear reactors.
France has been constructing dozens of reactors since the 1970s oil crises spurred on its desire for energy independence. In doing so, it has become the world's biggest net exporter of electricity, and is also a major exporter of nuclear technology.
France began a public debate in 2003 on future energy policy, but the government is committed to nuclear energy. President Jacques Chirac has announced the fourth generation of nuclear reactors, using nuclear waste as a source of energy, while France will be the site for an international experimental nuclear fusion reactor.
Although nuclear power accounts for 78% of electricity generated in France, it does not actually have the biggest nuclear capacity in the world. The USA produces almost 30% of nuclear electricity generated globally, whereas France accounts for just under 17%. Altogether, there are 440 commercial nuclear reactors worldwide.
As the newly-appointed Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed can do no worse than to commission Malaysian universities to come up with a viable national renewable energy programme. He can arrange for some nuclear technology transfer from France by getting Malaysian nuclear scientists involved in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
Malaysia should adopt new technologies such as the REVA electric vehicle based on technology developed by Dr Lon Bell and the Honda FCX powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Fueling the Future:
a series of articles on meeting our energy needs
Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
1 comment:
Bravo Sdr Azlan! i suggest you send this piece of information to our new Higher Education Minister as well as Petronas and Tenaga Nasional.
Hopefully they will act on the information. Only thing I hope people would not act nagatively when we develop our nuclear capabality for our energy need, as they are doing to Iran, etc.
Uncle M
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