Sep 8 2009, 12:24 PM
QUOTE(Polaris @ Sep 8 2009, 09:47 AM)
Critique:
-A huge part of the electricity will be wasted going through such a long way from source to destination of use.
-The estimated cost estimate of RM10b is conservative at best and will likely balloon over the years, just like the Bakun dam itself going many times over it's original estimated cost.
-The amount of money spent could be used for more power per ringgit projects elsewhere.
-The fact that highly polluting aluminum smelter industries are specifically invited to suck up the excess electricity just shows that this project did not take into account the state's demand level for power.
-Usually, the hundreds of kilometers along the pathway of the cables would open up new housing, commercial and industrial areas... but what can be built alongside it under the sea?
I'm not a electrical engineer, but a couple of things:-A huge part of the electricity will be wasted going through such a long way from source to destination of use.
-The estimated cost estimate of RM10b is conservative at best and will likely balloon over the years, just like the Bakun dam itself going many times over it's original estimated cost.
-The amount of money spent could be used for more power per ringgit projects elsewhere.
-The fact that highly polluting aluminum smelter industries are specifically invited to suck up the excess electricity just shows that this project did not take into account the state's demand level for power.
-Usually, the hundreds of kilometers along the pathway of the cables would open up new housing, commercial and industrial areas... but what can be built alongside it under the sea?
Can you state your source on your claims of HVDC power losses? From what I've read, HVDC transmission is a far more efficient and cheaper means of long range power transmission than HVAC. There are many journal papers out there discussing exactly this if you're interested (I took a quick look). Additionally electric power companies routinely employ long range transmission lines to service their customers. It is simply economical to produce the bulk of your electricity in one location and then sending the power over large distances. And when you have a power station over-supplying electricity, why not send that excess power over to where the demand is?
Whether you like it or not, Malaysia is an industrialized country--meaning industries, such as the aluminium smelters you so love to loathe, contribute to a large chunk of our GDP (43.7% according to the CIA world factbook). These industries are major consumers of electric power (The article you quoted mentioned up to 50% of the generated electricity will be consumed by the smelter). This obviously means that, contrary to what you think, there IS a demand for additional power, and there will be continual demand for said power as long as the country remains dedicated to developing its industrial sector.
Your critique on submarine power transmission is perplexing. How else would you transmit power over the ocean? As mentioned above there is plenty of opportunity of industrial development if power is available, and when the sector grows, more people get jobs and the country gets richer. A good thing all around, except maybe for the environment.
This post has been edited by pixelsheep: Sep 8 2009, 05:37 PM
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