The Ingenieur

INGENIEUR

Figure 2: Pilot scale batik wastewater treatment system (top), batik wastewater treatment
before and after (bottom left and bottom middle). Batik wastewater treatment process
(bottom right)

in health and safety risks. Some of these are and resource efficiency practices. All the options
and recommendations are shared with batik
tabulated in Table 1. manufacturers through engagement activities.
Such activities should be held more regularly to
The reduction in carbon impact estimate provide support in creating awareness, educating
and addressing issues faced by them.
was calculated for the reduction in usage of
Effluent Treatment
wax, resin, dye, sodium silicate, firewood, water,
Wastewater generated from batik making is highly
electricity and generation of waste, as a result of alkaline with high levels of polluting compounds

improvements made in the process and methods.

An overall reduction of 10,707.8 kg CO2 per year
was determined.

The Standard Operating Procedure document

is made available to existing as well as new batik

premises for ease of reference to abide to CP

468 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

from the dye, wax and chemicals used in painting cheaper digital batik fabrics. The value lies in its
and colour fixing. Premise owners face the authenticity as an artwork. However, this very fact
predicament of prohibitively high installation also means that it is not the most sustainable
and operation costs for treatment systems that product, especially when they are produced
would effectively reduce the effluent pollution in large quantities and volume, due to the raw
level. The use of membrane technology and materials and techniques applied in the traditional
Fenton methods were considered, but for the process. This dilemma can be overcome with
sake of cost-effectiveness an activated carbon careful implementation of CP options that
treatment process was first installed at the generates savings in material and energy usage,
premise. The system successfully treated the resource recovery and waste reduction, as well as
effluent to meet the Department of Environment precautionary steps on health and safety concerns.
discharge Standard B. Potential issues related to Establishing an SOP for CP implementation and
the activated carbon process is in ensuring proper regular engagement with batik manufacturers who
column operation and maintenance to maximise primarily come from rural areas are key to ensuring
the capacity of the adsorption column. that the good practices of CP are maintained. It
may be necessary to initiate services for effluent
Another issue is in ascertaining the treatment to make it feasible for premise owners
breakthrough point and the management of spent so that they do not need to pay the high capital
adsorbent. Further research on the batik effluent costs on the installation of treatment systems to
treatment resulted in the development of an treat the effluent before discharge.
improved system comprising a three-step process
that included a catalytic step, pH balancing, and REFERENCE
a final polishing step (1). The system successfully
treated the wastewater to remove colour and (1) Payam Moradi Birgani, Navid Ranjbar, Rosniah
reduce pH and COD to acceptable levels for Che Abdullah, Kien Tiek Wong, Gooyong Lee,
discharge. A prototype of the batik treatment Shaliza Ibrahim, Chulhwan Park, Yeomin Yoon
system was installed in a premise in Gombak, and Min Jang, “An efficient and economical
Selangor as shown in Figure 2. The unique feature treatment for batik textile wastewater
about this system is that it is additionally equipped containing high levels of silicate and organic
with a step which successfully precipitated out pollutants using a sequential process of
the silicate compounds from the wastewater, as acidification, magnesium oxide, and palm
well as reducing COD, pH and other parameters shellbased activated carbon application”,
to discharge standards. The process generated Journal of Environmental Management, Volume
a substantial quantity of silicate sludge that 184, Part 2, 15 December 2016, Pages 229-
solidified out of the effluent. The DOE considers 239
this sludge as scheduled waste and the batik
premise would have to discard it according to (2) Choong, C.E, S. Ibrahim, W.J. Basirun,
procedure. This would incur cost to the premise “Mesoporous silica from batik sludge
owner which in the long term can be a burden impregnated with aluminum hydroxide for the
to the batik makers. We developed a method removal of bisphenol A and ibuprofen”, Journal
to reuse the sludge and convert it into a zeolite of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume
type adsorbent of mesoporous silica, which when 541, 1 April 2019, Pages 12-17
impregnated with alumiium hydroxide, proved to
be effective as an absorbent to remove bisphenol Acknowledgement
A and ibuprofen (2).
This article is based on an extensive project on
Conclusion Cleaner Production conducted by a team of
experts from the UM Consultancy Unit (UPUM).
Handcrafted batik remains popular in Malaysia as The author (Shaliza Ibrahim ) would like to thank
well as abroad despite the proliferation of much Ms Farahin Jais for her assistance in preparing
Figure 1.

49

INGENIEUR

Plastics: Chemically
Engineered to Pollute?

By Dr Theng Lee Chong
Environment / Waste Management Specialist

FEATURE Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing
environmental issues today as the
consumption of plastic products has Figure 1
increased drastically over the past century and
plastic waste generation has been overwhelming,
to an alarming level that is beyond the world’s
ability to deal with. Many initiatives have been
proposed and adopted to address the issues, with
a tremendous amount of money spent on these
various activities. Many business opportunities
have been created, and not only technologies but
many experts have suddenly emerged in recent
years in matters dealing with plastic waste issues.
Are we putting our focus right? Or we are just
focussing only on the tip of the iceberg, while other
bigger issues are left hidden? Why don’t we just
replace plastics with some other materials and
then all problems are solved?

How much we rely on plastics containers. Most people are not aware that many
of the things we use have “hidden” plastics,
There are different literatures showing the year such as disposable diapers (baby and adult),
when plastics were invented on earth. Some face masks, sanitary pads, cigarette butts,
believe plastics were first invented in 1862, while synthetic or nylon clothes and even your so-called
the first fully synthetic plastic was recorded to environmentally-friendly non-woven fibre shopping
be introduced in New York in 1907. Since then, bags! Don’t be surprised that paper cups are
life has evolved into an era where in our daily life also coated with a layer of plastic and are totally
we are heavily reliant on wide range of products non-recyclable. Even the metal cans for food and
made from plastics with their unique properties: drinks have a layer of plastic to prevent chemical
durable, lightweight, high strength, resistant to reactions.
shock, corrosion, chemicals, water, and having
excellent insulation against both electricity and Based on the statistics, worldwide plastic
high temperatures. production has increased from 1.5 million tons/
year in 1950, to 322 million tons/year in 2015,
It is not unusual that people tend to associate with Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of
plastics with products such as plastic straws, 8.6% from 1950 to 2015 (see Figure 1).
plastic bags, plastic cutlery, food and detergent
Table 1 presents statistics on the consumption
of plastic products worldwide which may be an eye

560 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

Plastic bottles used worldwide (yearly) ~ 480,000,000,000 (480 billion) pcs
Single-use plastic bags used worldwide (yearly) ~ 1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) pcs
Plastic straws used worldwide (yearly) ~ 183,000,000,000 (183 billion) pcs
Plastic cups used worldwide (yearly) ~ 500,000,000,000 (500 billion) pcs

Disposable coffee cup (plastic coated / use plastic lids) ~ 16,000,000,000 (16 billion) pcs
used worldwide (yearly)
Cigarette butts littered worldwide (yearly) ~ 4,500,000,000,000 (4.5 trillion) pcs
Face mask used worldwide (yearly) ~ 1,548,000,000,000 (1.5 trillion) pcs
~ 400,000km (enough to wrap around the
Amount of bubble wrap produced worldwide (yearly) Earth’s Equator 10 times)

Disposable single-use baby diapers used in Malaysia ~ 4,300,000,000 (4.3 billion) pcs
(yearly) ~ 2,500,000,000 (2.5 billion) pcs

Lady’s disposable sanitary pad used in Malaysia (yearly)

Table 1: Worldwide consumption of plastic products.
(Note: Quoted from various sources, at different year references)

opener for many people, to understand how much  Plastics cause suffocation, starvation and
we rely on plastics in our daily lives nowadays.
drowning to animals, especially sea life and
While we enjoy the benefits and convenience birds, when they ingest them.
from a wide range of products made of plastics, the
tremendous amounts of plastic waste disposed in  Uncontrolled burning of plastics releases
the world everyday becomes an emerging threat
to the entire ecosystem of the world, from plastic toxic fumes, creating serious pollution to the
pollution in the land to microplastics in the ocean, atmosphere and threatening human health
and toxic fumes in the atmosphere from the through inhalation.
burning of plastics.
All these impacts from plastics are undeniable,
Are Plastics the Real Culprit? because we have seen how plastic sheets choke
sea creatures to death; we have seen how a turtle
In general, the most common impact caused by suffer from a plastic straw stuck up the nostril;
plastics from environmental perspectives include and we have also seen how much plastic wastes
the following: are found in the stomachs of whales and sea birds
lying along the beach.
 Plastics are made from non-renewable
We have also read reports of plastic wastes
resources; it is naturally non-degradable and clogging drains and causing serious flash floods
stays for hundreds or thousands of years. in many cities; tremendous amount of plastics
in the waste traps installed at major rivers;
 Plastics consumption, especially the huge patches of plastic wastes found floating
in the oceans; landfill sites stuffed with plastics
single-use products, is tremendous, thus wastes, which will remain till the time of our
generating and accumulating enormous great grandchildren; and microplastics that are
amounts of plastic waste. now found in the body systems of animals and
humans.
 Plastics drained into the ocean cause
Don’t all these show that plastics are the
the serious problem of microplastics in culprits that pollute our environment and endanger
the seawater, creating a big threat to the our lives? Why do we create something that
ecosystem, and human and animal lives threatens our lives, and we continue using it every
through the food chain.

51

INGENIEUR

day? Are all these plastic products engineered to Clearing the Misleading Air
pollute and kill humankind on Earth?
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has conducted
Are plastics the real culprits to be blamed? a research and published that each Malaysian
When we think thoroughly and rationally, none generate about 16.78kg of plastic packaging
of the abovementioned threats would have waste every year, the highest among the countries
happened if not for the attitudes of humans covered under the research, i.e., Thailand,
and the improper management of plastic waste Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and China.
after usage. Even worse is the habit of illegal Many people were shocked by newspaper
dumping or littering on the streets. We can’t see headlines such as “Malaysians Asia's biggest
that our own attitude is actually the real culprit plastic consumers”, “Malaysians named as Asia's
and the root cause of all the problems that we plastic polluters”, and few others, in announcing
are facing now, but we blame plastics irrationally. the report.
We blame plastics for choking the animals, we
blame plastics for clogging the drains, we blame WWF later published a statement to clarify
plastics filling up the landfills, we blame plastics that those were inaccurate headlines because the
for destroying the ocean ecosystem, and we study only covered six countries, and it is too much
blame plastics for the presence of microplastics to conclude that Malaysia is the highest plastic
in our body systems. packaging waste generator. The statement also
clarified that Malaysia has in reality rather good
Let’s Talk about Replacements plastic recycling initiatives, and that we also have
the best waste collection rate among all the six
Since plastics are seen to seriously threaten the countries researched.
environment and human lives, many initiatives
have been taken to find replacements for plastic Plastic waste generation per capita is correlated
products. The most commonly seen initiatives with the standard of living and development status
include replacement of styrofoam food boxes of a country, which means that when a country is
with boxes made from polypropylene (PP) or more developed, the per capita generation rate
plant-based fibres; replacement of plastic straws will be higher. Therefore, it is not surprising to see
with straws made from paper or metal; and the per capita generation rate is higher in Malaysia
replacement of conventional plastic bags with than in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia,
bags made from so-called degradable materials. Vietnam and China. As a comparison, the plastic
Some of the facts on replacements are uncovered packaging waste generation per capita for some
as shown in Table 2. other more developed countries are shown below:

All the facts elaborated in Table 2 show that  European Union (EU) countries – on
replacement does not necessarily help as a
whole, unless everyone understand the science average more than 40kg/cap/year
behind them, and actions are taken holistically
from all aspects. Unfortunately, there is often  More than 85% of EU countries generate
a lack of detailed study and planning before a
decision or policy is made to ban or to replace more than 20kg/cap/year 
plastics with some other materials, and even
worse, when all the facts and science are over-  Ireland has the highest generation rate
ruled by business or political wills. It is quite
interesting anyway, to imagine what people will in EU at 54kg/cap/year, followed by
use to replace baby diapers, sanitary pads and Luxemburg (43kg), Denmark (42kg),
cigarette butts when zero single-use initiatives Germany (39kg), UK and France (35kg
come into force, because all these as mentioned each)
are “single-use” and their quantities are
enormous.  For Asian countries, Japan generates

about 30kg/cap/year, Singapore is even
higher at 46kg/cap/year

So, where does Malaysia stand with 16.78kg/
cap/day of plastic packaging waste generation

562 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

Styrofoam -> PP  It is misleading to say that styrofoam cannot be recycled. Styrofoam can
or fibre boxes
actually be fully recycled, just that it is often not recycled because it is too
Plastic straw -> lightweight and not feasible economically in terms of logistics (imagine you are
paper straw transporting >95% of air).

Conventional  Polypropylene (PP) boxes can be a better alternative only if the PP box is
plastic bags ->
degradable bags cleaned up after use and segregated for recycling. Otherwise, it will end up
at the landfills, and the impact could be worse because it is heavier. Both are
plastics that will stay in the landfills for centuries.

 Boxes made from fibre are generally coated with a layer of plastics, and thus

they are still not recyclable and not fully degradable. The carbon footprint could
also be higher due to heavier weight and production footprint.

 Plastic straws should be avoided if not necessary, although there is the

possible concern about hygiene from direct contact with the cup/glass.

 Use of paper straw as replacement is inexplicable, as the paper straw is

coated with plastics or wax or unknown materials, which makes the straw
not recyclable. Conventional plastic straws are fully recyclable if properly
segregated.

 Even worse, there is no control on the quality of paper straws in the market to

ensure it is a food grade product, especially from health perspective whether
there is any use of colouring, bleaching agent or chemicals.

 Using a metal straw could be the most reasonable replacement but it is

questionable how many people will carry a metal straw around in the pocket.

 There are many replacements for conventional plastic bags now in the market,

whether they are “degradable”, “biodegradable” or some claim to be “oxo-
degradable”.

 Oxo-degradable bags are particularly confusing because it is physically

impossible to differentiate whether bags are oxo-degradable or just normal
plastic bags printed with the word “oxo” on them.

 Plastic bags made of food starch (such as corn or tapioca starch) are

degradable for sure, but probably it makes more sense to feed the starch to
people rather than making them into plastic bags, considering that the world
hunger has increased to more than 100 million in 2020.

 Any degradable plastic mixed in the waste stream will distort the entire effort to

recycle conventional plastics, unless they are completely segregated out from
the plastic waste stream.

 One better option is to use “recycling bags” made from non-woven fibre as a

replacement for “plastic” bags. However, non-woven fibre is actually also made
of non-recyclable plastics. Thus, the bags should be used as many times as
possible, as otherwise it will not be more environment friendly.

Table 2: Replacement for plastic products

53

INGENIEUR

The wide range of packaging made from plastics.

and said to be the highest in Asia? It is truly When the problems of mismanagement and
misleading and there are surely many other attitudes cannot be rectified, no doubt other
developed countries in Asia that is ahead of approaches will be necessary in order to find long
Malaysia in this awful race. It is not even an issue term and sustainable solutions. However, the issues
worth highlighting, but still those headlines are of plastics should not be managed emotionally.
repeatedly quoted by many people, including the Decisions should be science-based and rational,
Ministers, regardless that they are actually not supported by sufficient facts from detailed studies.
true and misleading. Most importantly, they should never be business or
politically oriented. Particularly in the case of banning
Conclusion of specific types of plastic products, the alternative
or replacement should be studied in depth to avoid
In conclusion, plastics are definitely not something creating another undesirable problem.
created or chemically engineered to pollute the
world and kill the animals. It is an invention that It is meaningless to compare one country to
makes our daily life more efficient and convenient. another in terms of plastic waste generation.
It is mismanagement and bad attitudes that have More importantly, we should understand how
caused all the troubles and the impact on us in much effort each country has taken to address
return. It is a fact that we are relying heavily on the problems effectively. Data does not indicate
plastic products in our daily lives now, and the that Malaysia is low in plastic generation such
impacts from mismanagement of plastic waste that we have nothing to worry about. We have a
are therefore enormous, to an alarming stage lot to do to ensure that we are on the right track in
where it is slowly destroying the entire ecosystem tackling the global plastic issues. In knowing the
of the natural environment and endangering actual culprits behind the problems, we should
human lives. probably put more focus on plastic production
requirements and consumer behaviours, instead
of blaming plastic products.

564 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

Do You plant biogeography at the University of California,
Know? Berkeley. 

Environment A study reported in the journal  Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, examines
By Pang Soo Mooi how wind patterns affect the exchange of DNA
between populations of trees. Their findings
Asian cities face greatest environmental suggest that factors such as wind strength and
risks - Bloomberg direction can help mould the genetic makeup of
forested landscapes. 
Asian cities face the greatest risk from
environmental issues including air pollution and As the climate heats up, some plants won’t
natural disasters, according to a report released thrive as well in their current environments, and
by a research firm. Of the 100 most vulnerable will need to be in historically cooler locations to
cities, 99 are in Asia. Of those, 37 are in China and stay within a comfortable temperature range. But
43 are in India, the world's first and third biggest plenty of questions remain around precisely how
emitters of greenhouse gases respectively. the plants will get there. One of the biggest areas
of uncertainty in plant movement is related to wind
Globally, 1.5 billion people live in 414 cities that because wind dispersal can be tricky to measure
are at high risk from pollution, water shortages, at large scales. 
extreme heat, natural hazards and the physical
impacts of climate change. Jakarta, the capital of Kling and his co-author David Ackerly, a
Indonesia, topped the list of combined risks based professor of integrative biology at UC Berkeley,
on all nine factors analysed. India is home to 13 used 72 previously published scientific papers to
of the 20 riskiest cities in the world, a result of its gather genetic data on nearly 2,000 populations
extreme levels of air and water pollution. China's of trees belonging to nearly 100 different tree
flood-prone Guangzhou and Dongguan topped the species around the globe. The researchers took
list of cities facing threats from natural hazards, this genetic data and compared it to a “windscape”
followed by Japan's Osaka and Tokyo for being model they developed, which pulls from three
vulnerable to earthquakes and typhoons. decades of hourly wind data.

Trees need wind to reproduce – The wind model provides a prediction for the
Popular Science way we would expect dispersal of seeds and pollen
to take place across large geographic scales and
Trees may seem sedentary, but movement is a big long time periods. “The genetic data provides a
part of their lives. To reproduce, many trees rely measured estimate, totally independent of the
on wind to move their pollen and seeds around, wind data, of the way that the seeds and pollen
says Matthew Kling, a post-doctoral researcher in have dispersed across large landscapes in the
past,” says Kling. The authors then compared the
predictions made by the windscape model to the
observed genetic patterns, allowing them to test
whether the wind was actually driving them. 

“We found evidence that migration of seeds
and pollen tends to happen preferentially in the
direction of the prevailing wind,” says Kling. In other
words, the seeds and pollen are carried downwind
more often than they’re carried upwind. They also
found that populations located downwind—in
the direction the wind is blowing—were typically
more genetically diverse overall. In addition, they
found that distinct tree populations connected by
stronger winds were more similar to one another
than populations connected by weaker winds,
suggesting that migration is happening between
those populations. 

55

INGENIEUR

“In many ways the findings of the paper are Burning of trees in Amazon Forest
predictable—many plant-focussed researchers
have understood the links between wind dispersal Amazon has flipped, and is now a net emitter,"
of pollen and seed, and how those factors can
contribute to or limit reproduction, dispersal, said co-author Jean-Pierre Wigneron, a scientist
connectivity, and genetic diversity,” wrote Jasmine
Janes, an evolutionary biologist at Vancouver at France's National Institute for Agronomic
Island University who was not involved in the
research, in an email to Popular Science. What’s Research (INRA).
interesting about this paper is that it brings many
of these ideas together and tests them on a "We don't know at what point the changeover
range of data sets so that scientists and forest
managers can gain a deeper understanding of could become irreversible," he told AFP in an
broad patterns. 
interview.
Understanding how quickly the location range
of a species of trees can migrate in response to The study also showed that deforestation —
climate change is important, says Kling, but it’s
also important to consider how different genetic through fires and clear-cutting — increased nearly
adaptations may be able to travel between
populations of a given tree species. “We can four-fold in 2019 compared to either of the two
imagine that over time, perhaps populations
in different climates and different parts of the previous years, from about one million hectares
species range have evolved different adaptations
to survive better in those particular climates,” says to 3.9 million hectares, an area the size of the
Kling. “As climate warms, it’s going to be important
for those genetic variants to be able to move
around different populations in the species range,
to help those other populations be better adapted
to the warmer conditions of the future.”

Netherlands.

Amazon Rainforest emitted more CO2 Terrestrial ecosystems worldwide have been
than it absorbed - AFP
a crucial ally as the world s4tr0ugbgilleliosntotocnunrbesCOin2
emissions, which topped

The Brazilian Amazon released nearly 20% more 2019.
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the last
decade than it absorbed, according to a stunning Over the last half century, plants and soil
report that shows humanity can no longer depend
on the world's largest tropical forest to help absorb have consistently absorbed about 30% of those
man-made carbon pollution.
emissions, even as they increased by 50% over
From 2010 through 2019, Brazil's Amazon
dbraaswininggadvoewonfof n1ly61.63.b9ilbliiollniontotnonnenseso,freCsOe2a,rcwhheirles that period.
reported in the Nature Climate Change journal.
Oceans have also helped, soaking up more
The study looked at the volume of CO2
absorbed and stored as the forest grows, versus than 20%.
the amounts released back into the atmosphere
as it has been burned down or destroyed. The Amazon basin contains about half of

"We half-expected it, but it is the first time the world's tropical rainforests, which are more
that we have figures showing that the Brazilian
effective at soaking up and storing carbon that

other types of forests.

If the region were to become a net source

rather than a "sink" of CO2, tackling the climate
crisis will be that much harder.

Using new methods of analysing satellite data

developed at the University of Oklahoma, the

international team of researchers also showed

566 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

for the first time that degraded forests were a Green groups, while welcoming the pledges
on new coal and fossil fuel mining and extraction,
more significant source of planet-warming CO2 said the bank should speed up its investment
emissions that outright deforestation. focus on renewable energy.

Over the same 10-year period, degradation Species extinction 100 to 1,000 times
higher than the background rate, the
— caused by fragmentation, selective cutting, standard rate of extinction in earth’s
history before human pressure became a
or fires that damage but do not destroy trees — prominent factor – World Wildlife Fund

caused three times more emissions than outright All economic activity ultimately depends on services
provided by nature, estimated to be worth around
destruction of forests. USD125 trillion a year. As we better understand
our reliance on natural systems, it’s clear that
ADB rules out coal, sets conditions for nature is not just a ‘nice to have’. Business and the
gas projects in draft energy policy – finance industry are starting to question how global
Straits Times environmental risks will affect the macroeconomic
performance of countries, sectors and financial
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said it will markets, and policy-makers wonder how we will
formally rule out financing for new coal projects meet climate and sustainable development targets
and will also ban financing for coal, oil and gas with declining nature and biodiversity.
exploration and extraction as pressure grows on
the institution to end all support for fossil fuels on Exploding human consumption is the driving
climate concerns. The pledges are contained in force behind the unprecedented planetary change
a draft energy policy, following the bank's annual we are witnessing, through the increased demand
meetings in Manila. for energy, land and water. Consumption indicators
— such as the Ecological Footprint —provide a
"ADB will not finance any coal mining, oil and picture of overall resource use. The products we
natural gas field exploration, drilling or extraction consume, the supply chains behind them, the
activities. ADB will not finance any new coal-fired materials they use and how these are extracted
capacity for power and heat generation or any and manufactured have myriad impacts on the
facilities associated with new coal generation," world around us.
the draft said. But the bank will continue to
consider financing gas projects such as pipelines Marine and freshwater ecosystems are also
and power plants. Burning fossil fuels is the single facing huge pressures. Almost six billion tonnes of
largest source of emissions heating up the planet fish and invertebrates have been taken from the
and driving wilder weather. world’s oceans since 1950. Plastic pollution has
been detected in all major marine environments
ADB came under criticism from Oil Change worldwide, from shorelines and surface waters
International and Fossil Free, an international down to the deepest parts of the ocean, including
coalition of non-Government groups and the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
movements, for channelling USD4.7 billion to gas
projects since the adoption of the 2015 Paris The latest Living Planet Index shows an overall
Climate Agreement. The policy draft said the decline of 60% in population sizes between
bank will still consider support for gas projects, 1970 and 2014. Species population declines
such as transmission and distribution pipelines, are especially pronounced in the tropics, with
LNG terminals, gas-fired power plant and gas South and Central America suffering the most
for heating and cooking, when five conditions dramatic decline, an 89% loss compared to 1970.
are met. These include improving energy Freshwater species numbers have also declined
access,  comparing projects with the cost of dramatically, with the Freshwater Index showing
renewable alternatives, showing a plan for long- an 83% decline since 1970.
term carbon neutrality that also avoids locking into
long-term carbon infrastructure, and lowering the
emissions of local electricity grids. ADB said it will
develop more detailed guidelines on future gas
investments.

57

SPECIAL REPORT INGENIEUR

Impact of Disruptive
Technologies on Malaysia’s
Future Energy Scenario
(Part 2)

By Ir. Dr Amir Basha Ismail

3. Impact of Disruptive Technologies on Today, various combinations of hydro and
Malaysia’s Future Energy Security thermal generation are used to manage variability
and these operate as a portfolio to meet demand.
As discussed in Section 2 (see The Ingenieur Each generator has various characteristics, but
Vol 86, Part 1), the question of Malaysia’s future the most important one for this article relates to
energy security must necessarily address the flexibility.
electricity demand-generation balance as part of
its national energy policy agenda. This overarching Daily and weekly patterns of system demand
national energy policy depends on the ability to often involve short-term forecasting. Knowing the
secure primary fuels (a mix of gas and coal) for time horizon over which significant ramps (MW per
the development and operation of centralised minute) take place, such as during the morning
large-scale electricity generating stations and demand rise, has allowed operators to plan and
the associated high-voltage transmission and implement effective strategies for flexibility.
distribution power grid.
Traditionally, long-term resource planning
Reliable power system operation requires the with conventional thermal and hydro generation
continuous balance of supply and demand at requires little information about the variability of
every moment in time. Power system planners the net demand/load in time scales of minutes to
and operators who have been working with days, whereas characterising the daytime cycle
conventional electricity power grid systems with is an important feature of day-ahead operational
centralised large-scale fossil-fuelled power generation dispatch planning. Power system
plants are quite familiar with a certain amount of planners/operators are quite familiar with the
variability and uncertainty, particularly with regard ‘system needs’ in order to ensure that the balance
to system demand. Depending on the season between supply and demand is maintained
and weather conditions, demand can fluctuate continuously by refining the generation output
significantly over a single day, week, or month. and demand delivered by the wholesale electricity
For example in the Malaysian power system grid, market.
the extensive use of electricity for air-conditioning
loads creates a relationship between increase in These ‘system needs’ in the order they are
electricity demand with increase in temperature required from real time are:
amounting close to 1000MW per °C rise. In
addition to meeting this variability requirements, ● System Inertia and Rate of Change of
there is always some inherent uncertainty about Frequency (RoCoF)
future power demand and future availability of
generators. The power system must thus be able ● Frequency Response
to manage both variability and uncertainty. ● Reserve
● Reactive Power/Voltage Support
● Blackstart
System Inertia comes from the rotational
energy stored in the synchronous generators of

568 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

gas-fired, coal-fired and hydropower plants. Inertia Each of these key drivers requires supportive
determines how quickly the 50Hz AC system policies and regulatory processes to enable
frequency will change when there is an imbalance appropriate commercial decisions to be taken in a
between generation and demand. Inertia stabilises prudent and timely manner.
the frequency and reduces the RoCoF. The lower
the level of Inertia on the system, the higher the 4. Renewable and Distributed Generation
RoCoF will be in the event of a sudden generation
or demand loss. Variable Generation

As levels of solar photovoltaic/distributed Globally, Renewable Energy (RE) has experienced
renewable energy generation continue to increase significant decline in costs, further driving
in our future national energy generation mix the global push to decarbonise the electricity
portfolio, System Inertia is expected to decrease. generation supply industry, as shown in Figure 16.
Thus, the challenging issue of managing System
Inertia and RoCoF is of utmost importance in Domestically, Solar PV is almost cost
order to secure future Malaysian electricity power competitive with conventional fossil fuels, with grid
grid against increased probability of partial system parity expected by 2025, as shown in Figure 17.
collapse.
According to the McKinsey Global Institute
One characteristic that variable renewable Report (MGI) [Ref. 3], solar and wind power
generation (VG) such as solar photovoltaic have could represent 15% to 16% of global electricity
in common is that their generation output is generation in 2025, up from only 2% in 2013. The
governed by atmospheric/climatic conditions and incremental economic impact of this growth could
consequently difficult to predict over some time be USD165 billion to USD275 billion annually
scales. Thus, large-scale penetration/integration by 2025. Of this, USD145 billion to USD155
of VG leads to increases in the variability and billion could be the direct value-added to the
uncertainty in the system’s generation output, world economy from this power, less the cost of
driving the need for greater flexibility. This is subsidies.
required in order to ensure the overall demand-
generation balance, at 50Hz system frequency, is For Malaysia, solar power could generate
maintained at all times. enormous benefits for businesses that provide
or consume energy, as well as consumers
In both technical policy papers published and society, but this would still require strong
in the quarterly publications of The Ingenieur, Government support, including green tax rebates.
Vol 60 & Vol 75 [Ref. 5, Ref. 6], this author has Greater demand for this variable solar photovoltaic
recommended that the Government design and generation could provide opportunities for
shape its future long-term (at least up to 2050) technology providers and suppliers of ancillary
electricity generation energy mix with clear targets equipment to manage the variability issue by
for each primary portfolio fuel based on the providing that much-needed flexibility on the power
following key drivers: system grid operation. Electricity utility companies
could play a major role in the adoption of these
● extent of concern about domestic energy Large-Scale Solar power plants by making some
security; investments in battery energy storage systems to
accommodate intermittent flows of solar power
● availability and price of ‘legacy’ indigenous into their grids.
natural gas for electricity generation;
Also, distributed solar photovoltaic renewable
● extent of integration of renewable energy energy generation – power/energy bought
variable generation, particularly solar PV from local, small-scale operations or from
plants; commercial and residential users – could help
defer investment in transmission and distribution
● cost and availability of imported coal for infrastructure.
electricity generation;
While the cost of solar PV cells and the overall
● cost and availability of the nuclear option cost of solar power generation have dropped
for electricity generation; and

● environmental policy objectives expected
over the next decade.

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Figure 16: Fossil-fuels power plants decarbonisation push & reduction in RE Costs [Ref. 7]

Figure 17: Cost competitiveness (LCOE) of Large-Scale Solar PV plants with Gas & Coal plants [Ref. 7]

dramatically in the past decade, solar power for this rate of improvement to continue through
is still not cost competitive with fossil fuels on 2025. The PV cell module and inverter, typically
a global basis, although in some regions it has 60% of the capital costs in these technologies
achieved grid parity, or soon will. The typical presently, could follow a semiconductor-like
levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of conventional improvement in price performance, while panel
electric power plants (coal and combined cycle installation, usually a fifth of the cost, can be
gas) is around RM360 per MWh [36 sen per made quicker and cheaper through GPS-guided
kWh], compared with nearly RM400 per MWh [40 power tools and robots. Overall, it is estimated
sen per kWh] for solar. However, there is potential that technology improvements could reduce

660 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

Figure 18: Forecast of Capital Cost for Large-Scale Solar PV System [2016-2027]
Source: Malaysia Solar PV Roadmap 2016-2030, MPIA Industry Engagement, June 2018

Large-Scale Solar PV power plant costs to 65% of and environmental benefits. It could be particularly
its current capital expenditure by 2025 as shown relevant for heavily-congested areas where adding
in Figure 18. new infrastructure is impractical.

According to the Malaysian Photovoltaic If renewable solar PV generation costs continue
Industry Association (MPIA) forecast report to fall and energy storage capabilities/efficiencies
[Ref. 8], year 2020 LCOE for utility-scale solar grow rapidly (see next section), it can be
photovoltaic generation (10MWp to 50MWp envisioned that entire neighbourhoods or factory
range) plus transmission & distribution grid asset complexes will be served through distributed
utilisation cost would be about 39 sen/kWh, lower solar photovoltaic power generation and localised
than the forecast average electricity tariff of about distribution smart grid infrastructure. This could
45 sen/kWh , as shown in Figure 19. make remote housing and manufacturing plants
more viable by reducing the transmission capacity
Grid-connected distributed solar photovoltaic required from the central transmission grid or even
generation, principally solar panels used to power eliminating the need to access the transmission
individual households or supply part of a building’s grid altogether.
energy requirements, enjoys a large share of
overall solar power production in some countries, Future Power System: High flexibility
such as the UK, the Netherlands and Singapore, Requirement
where more than half of renewable generation
is residential (mostly rooftop solar). Distributed The flexibility of the system represents its ability
generation could also provide other benefits, to accommodate variability and uncertainty in the
such as lower line losses due to shorter distances demand-generation balance while maintaining
transmitted, productive use of unutilised rooftops, satisfactory levels of performance for any timescale.

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Figure 19: Past Trend and Forecast Average Electricity Tariff vs Solar PV Electricity Generation Cost
Source: MPIA Proposal for Net Energy Metering Programme 2016-2030. [Ref.8]

As mentioned earlier, with the anticipated Figure 21 depicts how each part of the
large-scale integration of solar PV renewable system affects the need for and supply of
variable generation in the electricity flexibility. Variability sources drive the need for
infrastructure grid network, future power flexibility to restore a system’s power balance,
systems need to have higher levels of flexibility while the flexibility sources respond to restore
requiring challenging MW ramping rates in the that balance.
operational time frame. Characterising these
ramping rates within the planning domain is While flexibility resources are commonly found
becoming increasingly necessary. Operational on the supply-side, there is also the possibility
flexibility is related to the system’s ability to deal of harvesting flexibility from the demand-side
with variability within system operation time (Demand Response, DR). Large-scale industrial
scales — normally from a day ahead to real time. processes and direct control of certain loads have
The type of operational flexibility required will been utilised for many years. Recent advances
depend on the time scale: in information and communication technologies
(ICT), together with the large-scale rollout of
● Increased frequency response and reserves advanced smart meters, have created a new
from seconds to minutes; window of opportunity to make better use of DR to
increase flexibility.
● Increased ramping capability from minutes
to hours; and The flexibility required can be obtained by
scheduling and dispatching certain loads (either
● Scheduling flexibility from hours to a day individually or as an aggregation of smaller loads)
ahead. according to system needs while respecting a
set of pre-conditions, such as comfort levels.
The time scales of flexibility, from the system- Alternatively, price-responsive demand can be
planning perspective down to very short-term used with price signals that reflect flexibility
operation, and the impacts of VG on flexibility can
be seen in Figure 20.

662 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

Figure 20: The impacts of variable generation on the flexibility time line.

Figure 21: The Balancing Mechanism between Variability and Flexibility

requirements. An example of the ability of such However, these VG resources will require increasing
DR to provide flexibility is found in France, where the flexibility of the national power system grid.
six million domestic water heaters, equivalent Assessing these new flexibility needs, the resources
to 12GW of potential demand, are centrally available to meet them, and the system flexibility
controlled to modify electricity demand. Demand adequacy, will probably be a significant aspect of
response flexibility from large consumers is also the system planning and business development
used in France to provide a two-hour ramping functions of the national utility board (TNB). There is
reserve in critical periods. no one-size-fits-all solution to increasing flexibility.
Options that achieve the technical objective
For the Malaysian electricity supply industry in of fulfilling flexibility needs must be evaluated
the future, VG resources, principally solar power economically so that low-cost solutions can be
plants, are set to increase significantly as part of offered to the customers through institutionalised
the Government drive to promote green sustainable market access mechanisms.
energy for powering and lighting up the nation.

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Figure 22: Smart Grid technologies for enhancing network grid stability, flexibility & security

Thus, increasing variable Renewable Energy/ Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries are widely used in
solar PV penetration into Malaysia’s power consumer electronic devices such as laptop PCs,
system grid requires investments in network and as well as in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
system upgrades to ensure stability, flexibility and According to Global lithium-ion battery market:
security of supply. This is as shown in Figure 22 Growth trends and application analysis, Malavika
which incorporates investments in automation of Tohani, Frost & Sullivan, Feb. 2013 [Ref. 10],
knowledge work Smart Grid technologies. the Li-ion battery market is expected to double
in the coming years to USD24 billion in global
5. Energy Storage revenue, and significant performance and cost
improvements are also expected in Li-ion batteries
Energy storage systems convert electricity into a in the coming decade.
form that can be stored and converted back into
electrical energy for later use, providing energy Prices for complete automotive Li-ion battery
on demand. This enables utilities, for example, packs could fall from RM2000–RM2400 per
to generate extra electricity during times of low kWh today to about RM650 per kWh in 2025,
demand and use it to support capacity at times of while lifecycle could increase significantly at the
high demand. Today, about three to four percent same time, potentially making plug-in hybrids and
of the electricity that is produced by utilities electric vehicles cost competitive with traditional
worldwide is stored, almost all of it through a internal combustion engine vehicles on a total
technique called pumped hydro-electric storage cost of ownership basis.
(PHES) which involves pumping water uphill during
times of low demand and/or low cost and releasing For utility grid applications, the average cost of
it downstream to turn power-generating turbines owning and operating Li-ion BESS could fall from
during times of demand and high cost. about RM2000 per MWh [RM2 per kWh] to about
RM400 per MWh [40sen per kWh] by 2025. This
Battery energy storage systems [BESS] in their could make Li-ion BESS cost competitive for some
various forms constitute the most widely known electricity grid applications, such as for providing
energy storage technology that will impact future BESS-Solar PV hybrid distributed renewable
electricity grid infrastructure development and energy, based on the LCOE, a standard measure
operation. of electricity costs. LCOE measures the cost of
electricity generated by different sources using a
present value payment stream of the total cost of

664 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

Figure 23: LCOE of Grid-storage BESS vs Gas-turbine peaking plant for flexible capacity [Ref. 7]

capital, operating costs, fuel, and maintenance for flexible capacity by 2025–2030 as shown in
over a technology’s useful life and is very useful for Figure 23.
comparing the prices of technologies with different
operating characteristics. Grid-storage BESS is set to play an
increasingly important role in integrating solar
With growing electricity demand and top- photovoltaic renewable variable generation
level Governmental concerns over carbon as part of the future Malaysian electricity grid
dioxide emissions and climate change, there infrastructure fossil fuels-renewable energy
is growing national and international pressure mix portfolio. The main role of BESS will be to
for ‘green’ means of electricity production and deal with peak demand capacity issues and
usage. On a world-wide scale, 13 billion tonnes as part of Smart Grid applications. BESS in
of CO2 are released annually from electricity Smart Grid applications can help with system
generation and 7 billion tonnes annually through frequency regulation and guaranteed peak
transportation [Ref. 11]. The electricity and power services.
transportation sectors are now more committed
to adding more sustainable energy sources and, Grid-storage BESS enables peak load shifting,
in both sectors, these efforts rely on energy higher utilisation of existing grid infrastructure,
storage. and efficient balancing of small fluctuations in
power output, as well as providing temporary
For the electricity sector, BESS can help to: power in the event of outage. However, for these
1. accommodate variable electricity from benefits to be realised, energy storage must be
cost competitive with other methods of addressing
renewable solar photovoltaic generation; these issues, such as gas turbine power
2. maintain capacity for peak demand; and generation used for peak power applications and
3. maintain frequency regulation. demand-side management for DR applications
For the transportation sector, advanced (that is getting consumers and businesses to
batteries make electric and partially electric voluntarily reduce usage during peak demand
vehicles adoption more competitive compared to periods). It is estimated that by 2025, grid-storage
petrol-engine vehicles. BESS could have a moderate economic impact of
USD45 billion to USD70 billion annually, principally
Grid-storage BESS from frequency regulation and peak load shifting
applications.
Rapidly decreasing technology costs could make
grid-storage BESS a dominant option over gas

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Frequency Regulation core competencies in software, process control
When generation and demand are out of balance, systems, and grid integration. To get utilities to
the system frequency deviates from its 50Hz be comfortable with newer BESS technology,
set point. Significant demand increases cause companies may also want to consider co-
system frequency to drop and voltage to sag. investing in initial pilot projects.
Similarly, frequency increases are caused by
loss of demand. Conventional power plants such Utilities face both risks and opportunities due
as gas or coal- fired provide their own frequency to advanced battery energy storage. While energy
regulation — a constant flow — by setting aside a storage may help improve the quality, reliability
portion of generating capacity (typically 1 to 4%) and efficiency of their electricity supply, other
that can be ramped up to regulate frequency. By uses could affect overall demand as in the case
committing to reserve a portion of capacity in of accelerated adoption of electric and hybrid
this way, utilities limit their output, losing some vehicles. Peak load demand could grow quite
production efficiency. substantially if charging is unconstrained (that is,
if most drivers come home after work and charge
Today, BESS are already competitive in the their vehicles when demand is highest). This could
frequency regulation market where they are place a new strain on peaking generation capacity,
permitted by regulations which require reserve thus requiring new investment.
generating capacity to fulfil this role. BESS will
become more competitive as prices decline. Future energy policy/regulation for electricity
In this context, the potential economic impact supply should include impact studies on energy
of energy storage on frequency regulation for storage technologies to determine whether there
utilities worldwide can run into billions of dollars are incentives or disincentives for investment
annually, assuming that BESS could replace all in grid storage and other relevant applications.
of the 4% of generation capacity set aside for The overall goal should be to ensure that energy
frequency regulation by conventional plants. storage is permitted to compete on an equal
footing with other solutions. For example, grid-
Peak Load Shifting storage BESS should be allowed to compete
To meet peak demand (when generation prices are with generation for frequency regulation and
highest), utilities can either build excess generation with peaking plants for peak load electricity
capacity or purchase electricity from other utilities supply. Introduction of renewable variable energy
or from specialised peaking plant suppliers. Energy generation quotas (solar photovoltaics) could also
storage could save costs by enabling utilities to promote investment in energy storage.
avoid purchasing electricity at peak prices, and
instead buying (or generating) when it is least It is envisaged that by 2025, the potential of
expensive, regardless of when it will be used. The energy storage for grid applications could become
ability to store energy for use at a later time is also much more clearly defined in terms of advances in
useful for integrating energy from solar photovoltaic battery storage technology and cost. This market
generation into the electricity supply grid, due to the development will have longer-term potential
variable nature of this resource. (beyond 2025) to disrupt electricity generation
and distribution.
Implications on Electricity Supply Industry
BESS solution providers need to gain the It is possible to envision a post-2025 scenario
support of utility company leaders to plan and in which renewable solar photovoltaic generation,
commit BESS for grid utility applications (as combined with cheap battery energy storage,
discussed above), as utilities tend to invest in and higher energy prices of conventional fossil-
10-year development plan programmes. They fuels for electricity production, could eventually
also need to demonstrate that BESS work lead to significantly increased adoption of locally-
seamlessly with existing grid infrastructure and distributed solar photovoltaic power generation.
renewable solar photovoltaic systems, potentially This could vastly alter the utility industry energy mix
requiring partnerships with companies with in terms of fossil-fuels (coal and gas) for electricity
production, ushering in an era of localised micro-
grid of electricity/energy independence with
drastically reduced emission levels.

666 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

Consumers and businesses stand to benefit In this context, Governments, deep-pocketed
greatly from advances in battery energy storage car makers and electricity utilities should be
technologies, whether they are used to power primarily responsible for building the EV charging
mobile internet devices, vehicles or entire infrastructure in order to facilitate electric and
households. hybrid vehicle adoption. This can be realised
through effective incentive-based regulations
Electric and Hybrid Vehicles considering the impact of retail petrol fuel pricing
on future adoption of EVs and carefully weighing
Based on an expected doubling of lithium-ion the trade-offs.
battery capacity in the next decade, electric-
powered vehicles (EVs) are expected to become Going a step further, the smart charging
cost competitive with petrol-engine vehicles by system can be further developed and configured
2025 on a total cost of ownership basis [Ref. 10]. to deliver electricity to the grid — Vehicle to
Grid or V2G System — which are currently
Car manufacturers are investing heavily being tested at few trial hubs in Europe and
developing both hybrid and pure electric models Asia (Japan/Korea/China). Basically, EVs are in
to help meet tightening emissions standards. effect energy storage devices on wheels, and
Towns and cities want to impose restrictions on because they spend much of their time parked
conventional cars to reduce pollution and in the and not doing anything, they can help smooth
long term, some European countries, including the out the peaks and troughs in electricity demand.
UK and France, want to ban them altogether by The V2G system uses software to regulate the
2040. charging levels of multiple EVs parked at a smart
charging facility. When the grid needs extra
In July 2017, the UK Government announced power, it can draw very small amounts from
that it would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel each individual EV. During off-peak periods,
cars and vans from 2040 onwards in order to cut the grid can re-charge these vehicles again and
carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 from the 1990 these EV users will get paid for the electricity
levels, in tandem with phasing out remaining they provide. This V2G system technology has
coal-fired power plants by 2025. According to the potential to be embedded in the Smart
experts, although some conventional cars will Grid infrastructure, especially at the micro-grid
remain on the road, numbers of EVs could balloon distribution/consumer end.
to 20 million by 2040 from around 90,000 today.
Charging them all will require additional electricity 6. Smart Grid with Knowledge Automation
from the UK power grid and would add around
5% to the annual energy demand. This is where With the post Covid-19 pandemic world economic
“smart charging” will be deployed. fallout, many countries are accelerating their
investments in Energy Transition Programme for
Smart charging facilities/systems will allow EVs Sustainable Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency
to draw power from the grid only when it is readily (RE/EE) infrastructure projects with green
available; avoiding peak periods, while ensuring stimulus packages for rebuilding their economies.
that they are fully charged when their owners Job creation and/or job upskilling as a result of
need them. Electricity utility companies will offer this Energy Transition investments is significant
different tariffs at different times of day (time- compared to fossil fuels, and many countries are
of-use, ToU tariff), so that it will be worthwhile already investing in it. See Figure 24.
financially to subscribe to smart charging, as it
could be a useful tool for managing demand when A Smart Grid is an infrastructure comprising
EVs are parked for hours at a time, either at home electricity generation, delivery (transmission &
or at the workplace. distribution) and consumer network, and which
incorporates information and communications
Implications on Electricity Supply Industry technology and automation technology to minimise
One major hurdle for EV adoption in many environmental impact, enhance markets, improve
countries, including Malaysia, in the medium/
long-term, is the need to develop adequate
infrastructure in the form of recharging stations.

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Figure 24: Job Creation due to Energy Transition Program Investments [Ref. 7]

reliability and service, reduce costs and improve (DMA). Distribution management automation will
efficiency. It is in this context that the Smart Grid include functions, such as distribution network
is considered disruptive. It empowers customers to security assessment, loss optimisation, fault
engage directly with operators and stakeholders/ location-isolation-restoration and automatic
asset owners in electricity markets leading to a feeder reconfiguration.
more sustainable electricity supply industry and
greener economy. Many utilities in US, UK/Europe and Australia
have already deployed regulatory-driven smart
With Advanced/Smart Metering Infrastructure grids in their electricity infrastructure. One of the
(AMI) and ToU electricity pricing mechanism challenges of smart grid deployment is that it is
deployed at the distribution/consumer end, capital intensive. In UK, Italy and Australia, smart
consumers can actually tailor and optimise their grid cost recovery is through minimum monthly
own usage/consumption. Consumers can also rental fees, whereas in the US it is bundled into
engage in DR application as part of the demand- the electricity tariff.
side management (DSM) market through the
AMI infrastructure. Figure 25 illustrates the Malaysia is currently in the process of crafting
architecture of AMI infrastructure as will be the necessary regulations which will address
deployed by a typical electricity utility company. smart grid cost recovery mechanism and the roles
and responsibilities of the Regulator (Suruhanjaya
Figure 26 (a) and Figure 26 (b) graphically Tenaga), the utility (TNB) and the customer. The
show the transformation of the traditional other issues with smart grid deployment pertain to
electricity grid infrastructure/centralised fossil- security of data and job threat to meter readers/
fuelled generation to full smart grid realisation disconnectors. Key success factors to smart
[Ref. 6]. The transformation is through grid deployment in the Malaysian electricity
integration of large-scale solar photovoltaic infrastructure are:
power plants and BESS, and distributed solar
photovoltaic generation on consumers’ rooftops ● Clear regulatory framework
with deployment of AMI for smart charging of ● Funding mechanism (Government grant/
electric vehicles, ToU pricing and ancillary
market services (such as frequency regulation, support and/or regulatory pass-through)
peak load shifting and DR applications) and ● Robust technology infrastructure and
enhanced distribution management automation
interoperability with pilot project at initial
stage of smart grid journey
● Effective customer engagement strategies.

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AMI involves smart meters, 2 -way communications network, MDMS and backend IT Systems

Figure 25: Architecture of Advanced/Smart Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
Source: TNB [Ref. 6]

7. Internet of Things tracked, co-ordinated, or controlled across a data
network or the Internet. There are three steps in
Physical objects, such as infrastructure, plants, IoT applications: capturing data/information from
machinery, shipments, equipment and devices are the object, aggregating that information across a
being equipped across the world with networked data network, and acting on that information —
sensors and actuators that enable them to taking immediate action or collecting data over a
monitor their environment, report their status, period of time to design process improvements.
receive instructions, and even take actions based
on the information they receive. This is what is According to the MGI Report [Ref. 3], the IoT
meant by the “Internet of Things” (IoT). It is growing has the potential to create economic impact
rapidly and it is disruptive to traditional business of USD2.7 trillion to USD6.2 trillion annually by
enterprises. 2025. Some of the most promising applications
are in health care, manufacturing, electricity
IoT refers to the use of sensors, actuators, grid, urban water infrastructure and urban public
and data communications technology built into transport system. To capture the potential value of
physical objects that enable those objects to be these applications, enterprises will need to have

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Figure 26 (a) : Transformation to full smart grid

Figure 26 (b): Transformation to full smart grid

760 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

systems and capabilities to mine and analyse the restore power by re-routing service around the
Big Data that remote sensors can provide. failed transmission/distribution or generating
equipment.
The article “Better Connected Enterprises”,
Jarrett Potts, The Ingenieur, Vol.73, [Ref. 9], notes Smart electrical grid systems are an important
that by 2018 there will be 22 billion IoT devices IoT application, with a potential annual value of
installed worldwide and by 2022 one million new about USD200 to USD500 billion by 2025 [Ref.3].
devices will come online every hour. IoT devices and The bulk of this impact would come from demand-
solutions have the potential to redefine competitive side management (DSM) applications that could
advantages in every type of business activity and reduce costly peak generation, which often
fundamentally alter how consumers interact with requires utilities to buy electricity at the highest
business enterprises and how these enterprises rates from the electricity market or invest in extra
interact with their supply chain suppliers and peaking capacity plant such as fast-response gas-
distribution partners. turbine generators. Many commercial customers
already avoid scheduling energy-intensive
Merging the physical and digital world also has processes and production during periods of
implications for privacy and security. As with data peak power/energy demand, when costs are at
connection, the connections that allow remote their highest, and some have formal agreements
machines to take action without human operator with utilities to reduce usage whenever demand
are subject to hacking by unauthorised people, reaches a certain level.
criminals or terrorists. The data collected via health
monitoring could be abused. For example, the in- With IoT-embedded smart grids, consumers
home controllers for smart grid applications (such as can let the utility company automatically power
controllers that can selectively turn air-conditioning down high-use systems and appliances during
or appliances on and off to save energy or take periods of peak demand or they can make
advantage of lower tariff rates at different times their own choices based on real-time tariff
of day) have implications on home privacy and rate information (time-of-use pricing) that the
autonomy. These issues will need to be addressed company provides. DSM could reduce peak
before society and businesses will be able to reap power (Megawatt) capacity demand by 2 to
the full benefits of the Internet of Things. 4% and cut overall energy demand (Megawatt-
hours) by 1 to 2%. This would allow utilities (such
Implications on Electricity Supply Infrastructure as TNB) to avoid building potentially billions of
Electricity utilities have been among the early ringgit worth of additional peaking generating
adopters. By bringing plants, equipment and other capacity and transmission & distribution
assets of the electricity utility grid infrastructure infrastructure.
(generation, transmission and distribution
network) and its electricity consumers into IoT sensors embedded in the smart grids
the connected world, IoT enables new ways of can monitor and diagnose in real-time, network
monitoring and managing all the “moving parts” problems to prevent unplanned outages and
that make up the electricity utility business. At reduce corrective maintenance costs through
any moment, management can see the status condition-based preventive maintenance
and flow of goods and materials through the utility strategy. At the user end, smart meters equipped
grid infrastructure to its connected consumers. By with two-way communication capabilities could
monitoring those critical assets in real time, the reduce outage minutes and enable faster
utility company can better gauge and control the outage restoration. They can also enable remote
usage and optimise network performance, and automatic meter reading, eliminating the need for
avoid disruptions by engaging in condition-based personnel to gather that information.
preventive maintenance of these assets.
The Internet of Things is such a sweeping
This means that rather than waiting to receive technology development that it is a challenge to
calls from customers whose lights have gone out, even explore all the possible ways in which it will
the electricity company can locate a failure as it affect businesses, economies and society. For the
happens and, under some circumstances, even first time, computers are now able to receive data
from almost any kind of physical object, enabling

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managers and operators to monitor the well-being From the author’s viewpoint, the most
and performance of plants, machines, equipment impactful disruptive technology for Malaysia’s
and even people. future electricity infrastructure is the anticipated
substantial integration of renewable and distributed
Hardware manufacturers that supply sensors, solar photovoltaic generation (greatly characterised
actuators and communications devices will by its high variability and uncertainty) into the
continue to refine their products and reduce costs. energy mix portfolio of the generating systems. This
For example, the electricity power systems for in turn will greatly affect the national electricity/
smart grid application could include hundreds of energy security in terms of demand-generation
thousands of devices, sensors and other hardware balance, both for real-time power system operation
that will need to be reliable, maintenance-free, and short-term/medium-term operational planning
and interoperable. Some of the best-positioned resource dispatch. If there is a lack of rigorous
companies may be suppliers of big data and power system security assessment strategic
analytical software that can help to extract studies, there is increased probability of partial
meaning from the enormous amount of data or full system collapse of the infrastructure as
flows that the Internet of Things will produce for System Inertia is expected to decrease in tandem
the power systems. With sensors, networks and with increase in the levels of solar photovoltaic/
computer systems controlling these critical power distributed renewable energy generation. Thus, the
systems, the consequences of cyber-attacks could current power system grid resiliency and capability
be staggering. It will take a great deal of thought need to be greatly enhanced to support the
and planning, as well as collaboration with private integration of this variable renewable energy solar
sector vendors to create proper safeguards and PV plants to mitigate this increased probability of
keep them up to date as these technological power system ‘blackout’.
advances continue.
This Renewable Energy (RE) Solar PV disruptive
In terms of data security and personal technology plus the other three disruptive
privacy/autonomy, both business enterprises technologies, namely, Energy Storage, Knowledge
and Government policy makers will have to come Automation Smart Grid, and Internet-of-Things
together to craft the necessary regulations to will, however, bring about the so-called Energy
protect the consumers and society at large. Only Transition period for Malaysia, just as for other
when these issues are addressed in parallel with world economies. This Energy Transition will
adoption of these technologies can widespread accelerate the decarbonisation of the electricity
adoption of IoT be successful. generation supply sector, particularly phasing out
the coal-fired power plants projects. The LCOE
In terms of public policy, Government will need of RE Solar PV are already competitive against
to establish clear understanding of the privacy gas combine-cycle plants, meaning building new
risks that accompany the Internet of Things. RE Solar PV plants has economic imperative for
The ability to put sensors virtually anywhere energy system costs. And, by 2025-2030, RE
— to observe the traffic on a residential street Solar PV plus Grid-storage BESS is projected to
or to monitor a home’s electricity use — will reach price parity with marginal cost of gas-fired
undoubtedly raise serious concerns about how all power plants.
that information will be used.
Over the much longer-term horizon, from
8. Conclusion 2035 to 2050, the Government should
seriously revisit/reconsider the Nuclear Power
This article discusses at length the issues and option scenario recommendation (which was
challenges of the four identified disruptive temporarily shelved in 2018) as contained in
technologies that can significantly impact the Nuclear Power Infrastructure Development
Malaysia’s future energy scenario/outlook in terms Plan Feasibility Study undertaken by Malaysia
of electricity grid infrastructure demand-supply Nuclear Power Corporation. This Nuclear Power
development planning and the associated national option will certainly improve further the fuel mix
power system grid operation security. diversification index of the generation supply,

762 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

enhance the national power system grid resiliency, Life, Business and the Global Economy,
capability and security, and offer long-term LCOE Report May 2013
buffer against natural gas and coal price volatility
risk. In this context, both China and South Korea, [5] Amir Basha Ismail. Electricity Demand-
which are presently heavily investing in the Energy Generation Balance: The Question of National
Transition RE Green Sustainability Initiatives and Energy Security. The Ingenieur, Vol. 60, Board
pushing for coal-fired power plant phase-out of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), Oct-Dec 2014
decarbonisation programmes, are very much
nuclearised in their long-term energy/electricity [6] Amir Basha Ismail. Impact of Disruptive
development planning scenario outlook. Malaysia Technologies on Electricity Grid Infrastructure.
should take heed of this. The Ingenieur, Vol. 75, Board of Engineers
Malaysia (BEM), July-Sept 2018
Additionally, the Energy Transition will also
witness mass adoption of electric vehicles [7] World Energy Forum (WEF): Malaysia Energy
in the 2025–2030 period, further driving Roundtable - Energy Transition. TNB, Aug.
decarbonisation via electrification through 2020
the Smart Grid EV charging infrastructure. By
promoting Energy Efficiency (EE) initiatives [8] Malaysia Solar PV Roadmap 2016 -2030.
through the Knowledge Automation Smart Grid MPIA Industry Engagement, June 2018
and Internet-of-Things technologies, there will
be handsome opportunities for future electricity [9] Jarret Potts. Digital Transformation: Better
consumers to optimise their energy usage and Connected Enterprises. The Ingenieur, Vol.
increase their monetary savings. Finally, there will 73, Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), Jan-
be great opportunities for this Energy Transition March 2018
to create new high-skilled jobs and build new
economic engines for Malaysia. [10] Malavika Tohani. Global Lithium-ion Battery
Market: Growth trends and Application
REFERENCE analysis. Frost & Sullivan Report, Feb. 2013

[3] McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). Disruptive [11] World Energy Outlook 2011. International
Technologies: Advances that will transform Energy Agency, Nov 2011

GLOSSARY LCOE Levelised Cost of Electricity
MESI Malaysian Electricity Supply Industry
AMI Advanced Metering/Smart Mmscfd Million standard cubic feet per day
Infrastructure (for volumetric measurement of
BESS Battery Energy Storage System Mmbtu Natural Gas fuel)
DSM Demand Side Management Metric million British Thermal Unit
DR Demand Response MW (for measurement of heat quantity or
EE Energy Efficiency energy value)
ESI Electricity Supply Industry NLDC MegaWatt (unit of power): 1 Watt = 1
GWh GigaWatt hour (unit of energy) PV Joule/Sec
Hz Hertz (electricity frequency in cycles RE National Load Dispatch Centre
per second) ST Photovoltaic
IoT Internet-of-Things Renewable Energy
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ToU Suruhanjaya Tenaga/Energy
IEA International Energy Agency TNB Commission
Joule Basic unit of energy: 1 GWh = 3.6 VG Time-of-Use (of electricity)
TeraJoules WEF Tenaga Nasional Berhad
ktoe Kilotonne of oil equivalent: 1 ktoe = Variable Generation
11.63 GWh World Energy Forum

73

INGENIEUR

What Others Say About Environment

By Samniang Saenram

REPORT UN Global Compact launches Climate best practices, peer-to-peer learning opportunities,
Ambition Accelerator (Source: UNEP) capacity building sessions and on-demand
training. The Climate Ambition Accelerator aims to
With 500 companies already committed to the engage 750 companies, including SMEs, across
Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign, the industries in more than 25 countries to focus on
United Nations Global Compact has launched setting science-based targets. Companies of all
the  Climate Ambition Accelerator, a six-month sizes are encouraged to apply for the accelerator
learning programme to equip more companies programme at unglobalcompact.org/climate-
with the knowledge and skills they need to help ambition-accelerator.
halve global emissions by 2030 and to reach net-
zero by 2050. Mads Nipper, CEO of Ørsted said: “Companies
can and must be catalysts for green action. We
“This is a make-or-break year to confront the believe that the companies that will thrive in
climate emergency. Meaningful actions taken by 10 or 20 years from now, are those that take a
businesses collectively now have the power to fundamentally sustainable approach. That’s why
limit global warming to 1.5°C. Our new Climate Ørsted is honoured to be a patron of the UN Global
Ambition Accelerator enables more companies in Compact’s Climate Ambition Accelerator, which
our Local Networks to join the transition to a net- aims to help companies put carbon reduction at
zero future and get started in setting ambitious, the heart of their business. By sharing insights
credible, science-based targets,” said Sanda on how Ørsted has transformed sustainably and
Ojiambo, CEO & Executive Director of the UN performed well at the same time, we hope to
Global Compact. inspire companies globally to engage in a faster
green transformation."
Led by the UN Global Compact with support
from patrons Ørsted and Natura & Co, and Roberto Marques, Executive Chairman and
sponsored by En+ Group, the Climate Ambition Group CEO for Natura & Co said: “This is the
Accelerator aims to scale-up credible climate decade for action to address the climate crisis and
action across companies of all sizes, sectors we have no time to lose. Every business needs to
and regions, to enable them to set and deliver on commit to a better, more sustainable future. It
meaningful commitments to reduce emissions may be challenging to understand where to begin
and deliver on the Paris Climate Agreement.  or how to get there. That's why the launch of the
Climate Ambition Accelerator is so important. It
The new programme builds on the UN will help companies to act, move faster, be more
Global Compact’s work to develop and promote accountable, and to ultimately reach their net zero
the  Science Based Targets initiative  and goals.”
the  Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign.
It also complements the Global Compact’s High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices
existing environmental sustainability efforts (Source: Carbon Pricing Leadership
such as the Action Platform on Climate Ambition, Coalition)
the  Sustainable Ocean Business Action
Platform and the Water Resilience Coalition, which The High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices’
in turn contribute to the Race to Zero and Race objective is to identify indicative corridors of
to Resilience campaigns in the lead up to COP26. carbon prices that can be used to guide the design
of carbon-pricing instruments and other climate
Through the Global Compact Local Networks
around the world, companies participating in the
Climate Ambition Accelerator will gain access to

764 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

policies, regulations, and measures to incentivise costs. There are different ways to introduce
bold climate action and stimulate learning and a carbon price. Greenhouse gas (GHG)
innovation to deliver on the ambition of the Paris emissions can be priced explicitly through
Agreement and support the achievement of the a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system.
Sustainable Development Goals. c. Achieving the Paris Agreement objectives
will require all countries to implement
a. Ta c k ling c lim a te c h ange i s an climate policy packages. These packages
urgent and fundamental challenge. can include policies that complement
At COP21 in Paris in December 2015, carbon pricing and tackle market failures
nearly 200 countries agreed to hold other than the GHG externality.
“the increase in the global average d. The Commission explored multiple lines
temperature to well below 2°C above pre- of evidence on the level of carbon pricing
industrial levels and to pursue efforts to that would be consistent with achieving
limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.” the temperature objective of the Paris
The goal of stabilising the temperature Agreement, including technological
increase to well under 2°C is largely roadmaps, analyses of national mitigation
motivated by concerns over the immense and development pathways, and global
potential scale of economic, social, and integrated assessment models, taking into
ecological damages that could result from account the strengths and limitations of
the failure to manage climate change these various information sources.
effectively. These temperature targets e. Explicit carbon-pricing instruments can
require a large-scale transformation raise revenue efficiently because they help
in the structure of economic activity— overcome a key market failure: the climate
including a major change in energy externality.
systems (especially power generation); f. Carbon pricing by itself may not be sufficient
industrial processes; space heating and to induce change at the pace and on the scale
cooling systems; transport and public required for the Paris Agreement target to be
transportation systems; urban forms; land met, and may need to be complemented by
use (including forests, grasslands, and other well-designed policies tackling various
agricultural land); and the behaviours of market and Government failures, as well as
households. However, climate policies, other imperfections.
if well designed and implemented, are A combination of policies is likely to be more
consistent with growth, development, and dynamically efficient and attractive than a single
poverty reduction. The transition to a low- policy. These policies could include investing in
carbon economy is potentially a powerful, public transportation infrastructure and urban
attractive, and sustainable growth planning; laying the groundwork for renewable-
story, marked by higher resilience, more based power generation; introducing or raising
innovation, more liveable cities, robust efficiency standards, adapting city design,
agriculture, and stronger ecosystems. and land and forest management; investing in
To succeed, that is, to deliver efficiently relevant R&D initiatives; and developing financial
and fully realise the potential benefits of devices to reduce the risk-weighted capital
climate policies, careful policy design is costs of low-carbon technologies and projects.
essential. Adopting other cost-effective policies can mean
that a given emission reduction may be induced
b. A well-designed carbon price is an with lower carbon prices than if those policies
indispensable part of a strategy for were absent.
reducing emissions in an efficient way. Countries may choose different instruments
Carbon prices are intended to incentivise to implement their climate policies, depending
the changes needed in investment, on national and local circumstances and on the
production, and consumption patterns, and support they receive. Based on industry and
to induce the kind of technological progress
that can bring down future abatement

75

INGENIEUR

policy experience, and the literature reviewed, undermine global efforts to fight climate change,
scientists say.
duly considering the respective strengths
The study, published in the journal Nature
and limitations of these information sources, Climate Change, involved researchers from US
space agency Nasa, the World Resources Institute
this Commission concluded that the explicit (WRI), the Centre for International Forestry
Research and others.
carbon-price level consistent with achieving the
To get a better idea of the role of forests in
t2e0m2p0earantdurUeStDar5g0e–t1is00a/t tlCeOas2tbUyS2D04300–, 8p0ro/vtCidOe2dbay regulating global CO2 emissions, they came up
supportive policy environment is in place. with a method of calculating how much of the
gas forests soak up naturally every year and how
The temperature objective of the Paris much of it is produced through deforestation,
fires, clearing and draining peatlands and other
Agreement is also achievable with lower near- disturbances.

term carbon prices than indicated above if The researchers created a map of greenhouse
gas emissions (sources) and CO2 removals (sinks)
needed to facilitate transitions; doing so would from global forests at a resolution of 30m  by
30m between 2001 and 2019.
require stronger action through other policies and
They found that the world’s forests sequestered
instruments and/or higher carbon prices later, and about twice as much CO2 as they emitted between
2001 and 2019. This “carbon sink” totalled a net
may increase the aggregate cost of the transition. 7.6 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, 1.5 times more
than the United States emits annually.
The carbon pricing and complementarity
In all, forests absorbed about 16 billion tonnes
measures indicated here are substantially stronger goaf sCeOm2,isosrioanbso.ut 30% of mankind’s greenhouse

than those in place at present (85% of global But deforestation, burning and other damage
released more than eight billion tonnes of
emissions are currently not priced, and about emissions every year, the researchers found. And
that has been taking a toll on some of the world’s
three-quarters of the emissions that are covered richest and largest carbon stores.

by a carbon price are priced below eUnStD1w0i/tthCOt2h)e. “Over the past 20 years, forests across South-
This st atement is consist east Asia have collectively become a net source of
carbon emissions due to clearing for plantations,
observation that the Nationally Determined uncontrolled fires and drainage of peat soils,” co-
authors Nancy Harris and David Gibbs of WRI said
Contributions (NDCs) for 2030 associated in a blog post.

with the Paris Agreement represent emission The region has the world’s third largest stretch
of tropical rainforest, yet these forests now emit a
reductions that are substantially smaller than netF4o9r0thmeiAllimonaztoonnnteoso,otfhCeOp2icatuyreeairs. grim.

those necessary for achieving the target of “well “The Amazon River basin, which stretches
across nine countries in South America, is still
below 2°C.” a net carbon sink, but teeters on the edge of
becoming a net source if forest loss continues at
World’s forests still big carbon store for current rates,” the co-authors said.
now, but threats growing
(Source: Straits Times) Over the past four years, clearing for cattle
pasture and degradation from fires have caused
The world’s forests are still soaking up billions of a big jump in deforestation and degradation in the
Amazon Basin.
tonnes of planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2)

every year, a global study has found, despite

millions of hectares being burned and cleared for

agriculture.

The findings show that forests remain a key

brake on the pace of climate change by locking

away lsatragteionasmaonudnctsarsofevCeOn2afftreormdeicnadduesst r y,
power of

destruction.

But the analysis shows that some forests,

especially those in South-East Asia and the

Amazon, are in trouble, becoming major sources

of greenhouse gas emissions. It is a situation that

could worsen unless land clearing and fires are

rapidly reined in. Failure to do so could significantly

766 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

Key International REPORT
Conventions on the
Environment

By Lim Tau Wee

Montreal Protocol MINAMATA Convention on Mercury

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global
the Ozone Layer is the landmark multilateral treaty to protect human health and the environment
environmental agreement that regulates the from the adverse effects of mercury. It was agreed
production and consumption of nearly 100 at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental
man-made chemicals referred to as ozone Negotiating Committee on mercury in Geneva,
depleting substances (ODS). When released to Switzerland on January 19, 2013 and adopted
the atmosphere, these chemicals damage the later that year on October 10, 2013 at a Diplomatic
stratospheric ozone layer, Earth’s shield that Conference (Conference of Plenipotentiaries), held
protects humans and the environment from in Kumamoto, Japan. The Convention entered into
harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation from the sun. force on August 16, 2017 on the 90th day after the
Adopted on September 15, 1987, the Protocol date of deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification,
is to date the only UN treaty ever that has been acceptance, approval or accession.
ratified by every country on Earth — all 198 UN
Member States. Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Nagoya Protocol Flora

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic The Convention on International Trade in
Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation is a Flora (CITES) is an international agreement
supplementary agreement to the Convention between Governments. Its aim is to ensure that
on Biological Diversity (CBD). It provides a international trade in specimens of wild animals
transparent legal framework for the effective and plants does not threaten the survival of the
implementation of one of the three objectives species.
of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of
benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution
resources. adopted in 1963 at a meeting of the members of
IUCN (The World Conservation Union). CITES came

77

INGENIEUR

into force on July 1, 1975. Because the trade in conventions, but for the entire United Nations
wild animals and plants crosses borders between system and all other partners engaged in
countries, the effort to regulate it requires biodiversity management and policy development.
international co-operation to safeguard certain
species from over-exploitation. Today, it accords Basel Convention
varying degrees of protection to more than 37,000
species of animals and plants, whether they The Basel Convention is an international treaty
are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried that was designed to reduce the movements of
herbs. For many years, CITES has been among hazardous waste between nations and specifically
the conservation agreements with the largest to prevent the transfer of hazardous waste from
membership at 183. developed to less developed countries (LDCs).
It does not, however, address the movement
Stockholm Convention of radioactive waste. The convention is also
intended to minimise the rate and toxicity of
The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to wastes generated, to ensure their environmentally
protect human health and the environment from sound management as closely as possible to
persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are the source of generation, and to assist LDCs
chemicals that remain intact in the environment in environmentally sound management of the
for long periods, become widely distributed hazardous and other wastes they generate.
geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue
of living organisms and are toxic to humans and Kyoto Protocol
wildlife. POPs circulate globally and can cause
damage wherever they travel. In implementing The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which
the Convention, Governments will take measures extended the 1992 United Nations Framework
to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that
the environment. Over 152 countries ratified commits state parties to reducing greenhouse gas
the Convention and it came into force on May emissions, based on the scientific consensus that
17, 2004.The Stockholm Convention focuses on (part one) global warming is occurring and (part
eliminating or reducing the release of POPs. It two) that human-made CO2 emissions are driving
sets up a system for tackling additional chemicals it. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan,
identified as unacceptably hazardous. Ultimately, on December 11, 1997 and entered into force
the Convention points the way to a future free of on February 16, 2005. There were 192 parties
dangerous POPs and promises to reshape our (Canada withdrew from the protocol, effective
economy's reliance on toxic chemicals. December 2012) to the Protocol in 2020.

Convention on Biological Diversity Paris Agreement

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the
into force on December 29, 1993. It has three United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
main objectives: Change (UNFCCC), on climate change mitigation,
adaptation, and finance, signed in 2016. As of
a) the conservation of biological diversity; March 2021, 191 members of the UNFCCC are
b) the sustainable use of the components of parties to the agreement. The Paris Agreement's
long-term temperature goal is to keep the rise
biological diversity; and in global average temperature to well below 2°C
c) the fair and equitable sharing of the (3.6°F) above pre-industrial levels and to pursue
efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C (2.7°F),
benefits arising out of the utilisation of
genetic resources.
It provided an overarching framework on
biodiversity, not only for the biodiversity-related

768 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021

recognising that this would substantially reduce The UNFCCC seeks for the stabilisation of
the risks and impacts of climate change. greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere
at a level that would prevent dangerous
Ramsar Convention anthropogenic human-induced interference with
the earth’s climate system. Such a level should
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow
international treaty for the conservation and ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change,
sustainable use of wetlands. It is also known as to ensure that food production is not threatened
the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the and to enable economic development to proceed
city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was in a sustainable manner.
signed in 1971.
ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary
Every three years, representatives of the Haze Pollution
contracting parties meet at the Conference of
the Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze
organ of the Convention which adopts decisions Pollution is a legally binding environmental
(resolutions and recommendations) to administer agreement signed in 2002 by the member states
the work of the Convention and improve the way of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
in which the parties are able to implement its to reduce haze pollution in Southeast Asia. The
objectives. Agreement recognises that transboundary haze
pollution which result from land and/or forest fires
UN Convention to Combat Desertification should be mitigated through concerted national
efforts and international co-operation.
The United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) is a Convention to International Convention on Oil Pollution
combat desertification and mitigate the effects of Preparedness, Response and Co-operation
drought in those countries experiencing serious
drought and/or desertification, particularly in The International Convention on Oil Pollution
Africa, through national action programmes Preparedness, Response and Co-operation
that incorporate long-term strategies supported (OPRC) is an international maritime convention
by international co-operation and partnership establishing measures for dealing with marine oil
arrangements. The Convention is based on pollution incidents nationally and in co-operation
the principles of participation, partnership with other countries. As of November 2018, there
and decentralisation—the backbone of Good were 112 state parties to the convention. OPRC
Governance and Sustainable Development. It has Convention was drafted within the framework of
197 parties, making it near universal in reach. the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and
adopted in 1990, entering into force in 1995. In
UN Framework Convention on Climate 2000, a Protocol to the Convention relating to
Change hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) was
adopted (the OPRC-HNS Protocol).
The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international In accordance with this Convention, States-
environmental treaty addressing climate change, Parties to the 1990 Convention undertake,
negotiated and signed by 154 states at the individually or jointly, to take all appropriate
United Nations Conference on Environment and measures to prepare for and respond to oil
Development (UNCED), informally known as pollution incidents.
the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from
June 3 to 14, 1992. REFERENCE

UNEP, Wikipedia

79

ENGINEERING NOSTALGIA INGENIEUR

Johor Bahru Causeway, 1960

By Cheo Hong Keyong

Johor Bahru Causeway, 1960: Notice the cross-flow current of the balancing culverts in the middle
section. Most were later blocked after a series of widening works resulting in stagnant water on both
sides of the structures. Notice the vehicles were mainly of continental make such as Volkswagen,
Austin, Ford and Vauxhall. (Source: Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia.)

The history of the Johor Bahru Causeway dates date. Floodgates were incorporated at the lock to
back to a proposal by the Federated Malay States control the tides. A total of 24 balancing culverts
(FMS) Director of Public Works, W. Eyre Kenny were laid underneath the Causeway to allow cross
to build a rubble Causeway. The proposal was current flow between two sides of the structure.
supported by the Federal Council of the FMS.
The plan by consultant engineers Messrs Coode, The construction contract was awarded to
Fitzmaurice, Wilson & Mitchell of Westminster, UK Messrs Topham, Jones & Railton Ltd of London
was approved in 1919. on June 30, 1919. The Causeway was officially
completed in 1924 at an estimated cost of 17
The Causeway construction was one of the million Straits dollars. Over 2,300 staff and
largest engineering projects in Malaya then. Tidal labourers were employed during the course of
studies were carried out prior to the construction, the construction. An opening ceremony was
and design features considered its structure, conducted in Johor on June 28, 1924.
surroundings, and continued ship passage
through the Straits. The orientation also factored The Causeway was widened in 1964 and
in the current railway terminations on both shores. further widened in 1976, and again from 1989 to
It was designed to be 3,465ft long, 60ft wide, 1991 due to increasing traffic volume.
sufficient enough for two lines of metre-gauge
railway tracks and a 26-foot-wide roadway, with REFERENCE
space reserved for laying of water mains at a later
Wikipedia
Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia

860 VVOOLL8575JUJLUY-NSEEP2T0EM13BER 2021



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