Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg (centre) witnessing the exchange of the Long San solar hybrid station handover certificate between Shanghai Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Group vice-president Yang Xing Hai (left) and Sarawak Energy Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Sharbini Suhaili. - ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star
KUCHING: The villagers of Long San in Sarawak's remote Baram area will now enjoy reliable electricity supply following the handover of a solar hybrid station from China’s Shanghai Electric to Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB).
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said this was part of the state's efforts to provide rural communities with stable, reliable and affordable 24-hour power supply towards achieving full electrification by 2025.
"While the domestic households of Long San were previously supplied by a diesel power station, this solar hybrid station will allow us to better accommodate the growing needs and increase the use of more sustainable renewable energy while reducing dependency on diesel fossil fuel.
"Essential services such as healthcare and education facilities will now be able to run more smoothly," he said at the handover ceremony here on Thursday (May 11).
The Long San solar hybrid station was donated by Shanghai Electric, which covered the supply, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of 350kWp solar photovoltaic panels, seven racks of batteries and associated electronic converters and control systems.
The project commenced in January 2021 and was completed in April last year.
The solar hybrid station now provides renewable energy to 104 households and 16 other properties including a church, clinic, mission houses and a school.
Abang Johari said the facility would improve the living standards of the Long San community, providing people in the area with new economic opportunities and greater access to the outside world.
"The Sarawak government aims to share these benefits with Sarawakians in all rural areas, no matter how remote.
"As such, we will continue to take steps to close the gap between rural and urban communities, leveraging existing initiatives like the Rural Electrification Scheme and Sarawak Alternative Rural Electrification Scheme to provide affordable electricity," he said.
SEB chairman Datuk Amar Abdul Hamed Sepawi said the Long San solar hybrid station was the first in Sarawak to use an advanced lithium-ion battery and energy management system to optimise renewable energy generation and reduce dependence on costly diesel fuel.
He said it would boost SEB's rural electrification efforts to ensure everyone in Sarawak had access to reliable and affordable 24-hour electricity.
"We are currently on track to achieve full electrification by 2025.
"As of 2022, we have achieved 97.9% rural and 99.2% statewide coverage, with over 25,000 households in previously unelectrified areas being provided with 24-hour supply over the last three years," he added.