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SDG7
AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
7.4  Energy and the community
7.4.4  Policy development for clean energy technology

Inform and support governments in clean energy and energy-efficient technology policy development

  • Local
  • Regional
  • National
  • Global
No.
Description
Evidence
1.
On 16 August 2023, Director of ISuRE Prof Ts Dr Shanti Faridah Salleh meet Sarawak's Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, YB Dr Hj Hazland Bin Abg Hj Hipni, together with Deputy Vice Chancellor (Student and Alumni Affairs) Prof Ir Ts Dr Al-Khalid bin Hj Othman and Deputy Director of ISuRE Dr Yonis M Buswig.
The meeting centered around "UNIMAS Low Carbon Campus Roadmap and Development of the Energy Institute Sustainable and Renewable Energy. Also a crucial discussion on energy, particularly focusing on the significance of renewable sources in sarawak state.
Attendees engaged in a lively exchange of ideas, highlighting the urgency of transitioning to sustainable alternatives. Key topics included advancements in solar and wind technologies, the role of government incentives, and the integration of energy storage solutions. Participants expressed optimism about the potential of renewable energy to reshape the global energy landscape, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts to drive innovation and ensure a greener future.
2.
UNIMAS collaboration with Energy Storage Rights PTY LTD
KUALA LUMPUR, January 5th, 2023 – As part of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s ongoing initiatives to achieve the goal of sustainable development, of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) has recently formalized its collaboration with Energy Storage Rights PTY LTD (ESR) through an exchange of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
The MoU and NDA with Energy Storage Rights PTY LTD (ESR) part of AlgorithmIntelligence SRL Group based în Romania is about collaborative research in the field of efficient generation of electricity for renewable and sustainable energy, machine learning, and other related fields. These represents proactive business and academic support for national policy utilising renewable and sustainable energy sources.
As Malaysia’s largest renewable energy provider, Sarawak can play a key role in accelerating the region’s energy transition by sharing its resources with its neighbours.The low cost of energy from renewable energy such as solar benefits Sarawak's domestic, industrial, and export customers by providing them with affordable, dependable, and sustainable electricity - in fact, the most competitive in the region.
With regional offices in Kuala Lumpur and Canberra, ESR has a portfolio of pipeline and completed solar projects totaling nearly 1 GigaWatt-peak (GWp) in Europe and the South East Asia and Pacific region. The solar power will be one of the primary engines for achieving the climate goal of shifting from carbon dioxide-producing to carbon-free electricity generation. This is also inline with Sarawak’s focus on using its power exports to make the state into the centre of renewable energy for South-east Asia.
The MoU was signed by Director of Energy Storage Rights PTY LTD, Mr. Dan Barbulescu, and the Vice Chancellor of UNIMAS, Professor Datuk Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi, in the presence of HE Mrs Nineta Barbulescu Ambasador of Romania to Malaysia and the Director of the Institute of Sustainable and Renewable Energy (ISuRE) of UNIMAS, Prof. Ts.Dr. Shanti Faridah binti Salleh.
This MoU was signed to realize the optimistic commitment of both parties for cooperation that produces mutual benefits in the future. This collaboration is also able to promote more innovation and technology that will have an impact on Sarawak, Malaysia and the scientific community as a whole.
The first common project is an European Horizon grant application for POME Demethanation with the objective to reduce towards zero the methane emissions from POME, în partnership with a major palm oil plantation with mills în Sarawak, near Bintulu Port.
Palm Oil is the world's most important vegetable oil with a 36% market share and 85% of production is concentrated in Indonesia and Malaysia. Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) ponds are generating 66% of the GHG emissions by the Palm Oil Industry. POME is the wastewater sitting for 40 days in ponds to settle and clarify before discharge into rivers emitting methane during aerobic and anaerobic digestion and we are reducing this by 10 times using electrocoagulation powered by solar floating on the ponds. estimated that the GHG emissions from the palm oil industry could be reduced by 17–20 million tons CO2 equivalent (CO2e) annually if all POME in Malaysia is treated with such a system.