Sunlight on the ocean surface
other sectors of the economy. Firstly, the largest
use of energy in Malaysia is in the transport
sector by as much as 46% [16]. Since the pricing
of energy does not differentiate by its form nor
its source, but only its energy content, the price
of petrol without the subsidy would be the same
price as that of hydrogen fuel. For the same cost
of energy, hydrogen-fuel cars, for instance, would
travel more than double the distance than their
counterparts powered by petrol [17]. That would
save the economy not only in terms of “dollars and
cents” but also in keeping the environment free
from motor-vehicle emissions and pollution.
Secondly, unless the pricing of energy in
Malaysia reflects its true cost of generation-
distribution-and-retailing, hydrogen economy
would not make many inroads into other sectors
of the economy: industry (27%), residential and
commercial (15%), non-energy use (12%), and
agriculture (2%). As much to support this Policy-
intent as to help the underprivileged, including the
B40 Group [18], the current fuel subsidies should
be removed, and be replaced with “targeted
support” for such selected groups of consumers.
Only with the removal of such fuel or power
subsidies would Malaysia begin to realise its
other useful energy programmes including energy
saving, energy conservation, energy efficiency, to
be successful.
Conclusion
By the middle of the 21 st Century, hydrogen fuel
will be a dominant energy carrier. In Malaysia, and
in other countries in the tropics, this fuel would
be generated largely by the conversion of ocean
thermal energy from the sea where the waters are
deep, deeper than 800m [20]. This fuel would be
best used in the transport sector, it being the largest
energy consumer, and its inroad into other sectors
of the economy would be pronounced should there
be any shift in the current energy policy toward “true
energy pricing” with the removal of the subsidies. In
the meantime, the application of hydrogen fuel cells
would grow not only in the transport sector but also
in other sectors, where independent and distributed
power systems would be required.
29