Water producer eyes Sabah’s first floating solar plant at Babagon dam

KOTA KINABALU: Private water producer Jetama Sdn Bhd plans to develop a large-scale solar power plant at its Babagon water dam in Penampang.

Jetama’s chief executive officer Ahmad Naim Uddang said they planned to set up the first floating solar energy project in Sabah that would be able to generate 15 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

He said the implementation of the project was expected to start in the very near future as it was a follow up to their successful implementation of their first solar project in Labuan.

He said the implementation of the solar power project in Labuan has placed the company in the path of sustainable energy producer apart from its major role of water production in Sabah.

He said it was part of the company’s mission to ‘Redefine Water and Energy’.

“Jetama successfully implemented a 10MW solar project in Labuan. This project reached its commercial operation date last February and is now generating significant additional income for Jetama over a period of 21 years.

“Soon, Jetama will undertake a groundbreaking step for Sabah with our plans to implement a floating solar project with a capacity of 15MW at the Babagon Dam,” he said.

The solar project will further strengthen Jetama’s position as an innovative player in the renewable energy industry in line with the development plan of Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ),” he said at Jetama’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration here attended by Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.

In addition to the renewable energy project, Ahmad Naim said Jetama was implementing an innovation project to produce bricks from mud, which is a scheduled waste from water treatment plants.

He said the management and disposal of the waste could cost millions of ringgit because it needs to be disposed of in accordance with guidelines set by the Environment Department.

“Jetama is the first water concession company and operator in Sabah to successfully convert this scheduled waste into bricks or better known as ‘Jetama Eco-Brick.’

He said that the innovative project was done in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) as a holistic measure to solving the scheduled waste management problem.

“It indirectly contributed to savings of almost RM65mil to Jetama. This innovation project was also recognized by the Asia Water 2024 Convention in Kuala Lumpur a few days ago,” he added.