Ecological Power Station
To meet Environmental Impact Assessment( EIA) requirements, an ecological flow of 8m 3 / s is required to ensure that the ecosystem of the upper reach of the Murum River between the dam and the downstream power station is sustained. An ecological power station was developed to meet this requirement and at the same time generate electricity. It houses two 3.75MW horizontal shaft Francis turbines with a total installed capacity of 7.5MW( see Figure 21).
RESETTLEMENT
Based on the Social and Environmental Impact Assessment( SEIA) study which commenced in 2009, a total of seven communities comprising 1,302 Penan( 335 households) and 113 Kenyah Badeng( 18 households) in Plieran, Seping and Danum would be affected by the Murum HEP.
After extensive consultation, the seven affected communities identified and confirmed their choice of the two resettlement sites at Metalun and Tegulang and provided input on the location and facilities of their new longhouses. The relocation process was successfully completed on December 2, 2013.
View of the Murum resettlement area
IMPOUNDMENT AND POWER GENERATION
Once the main civil works were completed, the reservoir was impounded on September 21, 2013, i. e. the diversion tunnel was closed to allow the reservoir to fill. On November 25, 2014, over a year later, the reservoir reached its full supply level.
While the reservoir was filling, installation and commissioning of the generating equipment commenced. The four Francis turbines, each capable of generating 236MW, were carefully installed. When the reservoir reached the generation minimum operating level on March 29, 2014, the turbines were tested and commissioned under real operating conditions. The first turbine was declared fit and ready for commercial operation on Christmas Day 2014, and the Murum HEP began delivering regular power to consumers. On June 8, 2015, the fourth and final turbine was declared fully operational.
Murum Power Generation |
Max. Installed Capacity |
944MW |
Firm Generation Capacity |
635MW |
Firm Annual Energy Generation |
5,782GWh |
CONCLUSION
The power demand in the State of Sarawak is expected to increase rapidly, predominantly because of the on-going development of energyintensive industries in the State via SCORE. The core of the corridor is the development of energy resources, based on hydropower generation to meet the power demand in Sarawak in the long term.
The Murum HEP is a valuable addition to energy production and contributes further to the Sarawak Government’ s SCORE agenda, to attract energy intensive industries to the state, providing job opportunities, transferable skills and other benefits that drive Malaysia’ s economy particularly for Sarawak.
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