KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's energy reserves is expected to increase with the commissioning of another large-scale solar (LSS) project in south western Beaufort district on Dec 23.
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said that the commissioning of the Beaufort LLS would help increase the state’s power grid reserve margin in line with the government's green energy generation agenda.
He said that Sabah currently has a low energy reserve margin of 12.1 percent, causing the electricity supply in the state to be less stable.
"The LSS operated by Beua Energy East Sdn Bhd in Beaufort will operate with the power of 16,992 solar panels and reach the Initial Operation Date (IOD) with a generation of 6.0MWc," he said after a site visit in Beaufort about 100km from here.
SESB is also undertaking similar large-scale solar projects in Sandakan and Labuan.
Mohd Yaakob said that the operations of the LSS could help ease the load-shedding implemented during peak demand in the state.
"This operation will increase SESB's grid reserve margin during peak load times. Indirectly, the operation of this LSS is also in line with the development of green and renewable energy in Sabah," he added.
He added that the LSS plant was among the 10 bidding companies for the LSS1 and LSS2 schemes that were awarded contracts and signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with SESB in August 2021.
All the companies appointed as developers of LLS1 and LLS2 will also operate their respective solar plants to help increase energy supply to the Sabah grid in stages until June 2024, he added.
