Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is on the right track in focusing on solar and hydroelectricity. There are green financing opportunities to fund these projects adopting latest technology to put an end to the frequent power outages and reduce Sabah’s System Average Interruption Duration Index (Saidi) rates.
Sabah Electricity aims to reduce the Saidi rates to 100 minutes by 2030 or earlier in a bid to reduce electricity supply disruption in the State. Sabah’s strength is on its abundant renewable energy resources, with strong government commitment and huge investor interest to reduce fossil fuel dependence and grid stability issues.
Currently, Sabah’s energy landscape comprise 86 per cent natural gas, seven per cent renewable energy (hydropower, solar and biomass), and 7 per cent diesel and marine fuel oil that are expected to be replaced in future by greener renewable energy sources.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});Jetama Sdn Bhd which co-sponsored, the Sabah Renewable Energy Conference (Sarec) conference, recently, leading the development of Sabah’s first Large Scale Solar (LSS) Floating Project at Penampang’s Babagon Dam by November 2026.
This project is a first-of-its-kind in Sabah, with floating solar panels installed across approximately 16 hectares of Babagon Dam’s surface.
Designed to deliver clean and sustainable energy, the system will generate up to 13.21MWa.c of power, directly supporting the SE substation at Minintod, 18km from the dam site.
Engineered for stability, the floating solar system uses concrete anchors and attachment lines to withstand water movement and weather, ensuring long-term durability.
What are the advantages of a floating solar system?
There is minimal land use, protecting valuable land resources and protecting valuable ecosystems. A floating solar system reduces water evaporation, and increases efficiency of solar panels due to the cooling effect from water.
Jetama is also the leading pioneer in generating renewable energy from Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) biomass in Sabah into clean, sustainable power.
“Our strategy is aligned with the Sabah Energy Roadmap, helping to drive Sabah and Malaysia’s transition to renewable and green energy,” said its spokesperson at the event, adding that Jetama Sdn Bhd is offering sustainable power solutions to industries, mills, and plantations currently using diesel generators.
The company is also proud to develop a 15MWa.c Ground Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Plant in Sandakan’s Jalan Batu Sapi with a site of 50 acres which is another of its key milestones in supporting Sabah’s clean energy future and reinforcing Jetama’s commitment to sustainable development.
Wholly owned by the Sabah Government through Sabah Development Bank, under the Ministry of Finance Sabah, Jetama Sdn Bhd in February 2024 successfully commissioned Labuan’s first 10MWa.c Large Scale Solar (LSS) project in Kampung Bukit Kalam on a 17-hectare solar farm site.