MIRI: A health clinic in a remote village about 183km from the city has become the first such facility in the country powered by a solar-hydrogen system.
The Long Loyang Health Clinic which serves a population of 1,200 in the village now has access to round-the-clock electricity with the installation of a stand-alone renewable energy system and hydrogen (H2E1) technology.
Long Loyang Health Clinic is a typical rural clinic, far from the power grid, and accessible only after about six hours on the road and another three hours off-road from Miri.
It also serves 15 other surrounding remote settlements along the Tinjar Baram area, said Utilities and Telecommunications Minister Datuk Julaihi Narawi after the official launching of the system in Long Loyang, Monday.
Work on the installation of H2E1 which commenced on July 2020 was completed in April this year.
“With the installation of the H2E1 technology and the selection of Long Loyang Health Clinic for the pilot project, it has made the clinic the first in Malaysia to be installed with such solar-hydrogen system,” said Julaihi.
He said with the setting up of the H2E1 system by H2 Energy Sdn Bhd, it resolves difficulties faced by the clinic which had all this while been relying on diesel generators, thus limiting power supply.
Julaihi said the installation of the system (H2E1), reflected the Sarawak government’s long term commitment in providing power supply to remote areas.
“The effort to identify remote areas so that we can install this system is ongoing,” he added.
Julaihi also approved RM15,000 for the construction of Long Loyang’s jetty and RM10,000 for the Sekolah Kebangsaan Long Loyang Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).
Also present were Deputy Minister of Transport Datuk Dr Jerip Susil, Deputy Minister of Telecommunication Datuk Liwan Lagang, Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau and H2 Energy Sdn Bhd Group chairman Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin.
