Groups protest against coal power plant project

LAHAD DATU: A coal-fired power plant in an area earmarked for eco-tourism in Silam is yet to get off the ground but already it is stoking up anger among several groups in this part of east coast Sabah.

The most vocal opponents to the 300MW plant, said to cost between RM1.2bil and RM1.3bil, are a group of environmentalists, social activists and local businessmen in this booming agriculture town.

They fear the plant will do more harm than good for them and the environment stretching from Darvel Bay to the pristine Danum Valley forest, some 80km away.

”We need power. But we want clean power,” said Wong Tack, the Sabah Environment Action Committee chairman in Lahad Datu district where several vehicles were seen sporting stickers which said: “No coal power plant” and “Coal-fired power plant jeopardises health.”

Wong: ‘This is an unnecessary risk. There is just so much at stake’

They came to know about the proposed coal plant in their backyard when Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd called for tenders for the Independent Power Plant project sometime in June.

The site identified for the plant is a portion of state-owned Yayasan Sabah’s 128.7ha seafront land where the abandoned Pacific Hardwood timber complex stands.

Wong's group has yet to see any detailed EIA for the project but is embarking on a public campaign to make local people aware of the dangers of coal fuel toxins.

Referring to studies done by opponents to coal-generated fuel in the United States, Wong said: “This is an unnecessary risk. There is just so much at stake,”

He cited significant amounts of birth defects caused by mercury poisoning; sulphur dioxide causing acid rain; soot particles causing visibility and respiratory problems; and carbon dioxide contributing to global warming as their main concerns.

Although experts agree that modern coal plants are much cleaner than those a generation ago, the group feels there was no environment agency sufficiently competent to ensure the enforcement of mitigating measures for coal fuel, as witnessed in many other projects in the state.

Wong argued that alternative sources of fuel should be considered - like natural gas, hydro-power, wind and biomass.

Once the RM400mil statewide power grid system is completed and commissioned early next year, Wong believes electricity could be brought in from other locations in the state to Lahad Datu district.

The group has met SESB officials but was dissatisfied with the scant details given to it on the project’s detailed EIA study.

The study has not been made public nor discussed.

“We are not against any authority’s decision but relevant agencies and elected representatives must not hastily give their consent (to such projects),” Wong said.