MANJUNG, PERAK: The Manjung 4 Power Plant, the most efficient coal-based power plant in Southeast Asia, will take centre-stage to meet Malaysia’s energy demand that is expected to double between 2015 and 2040.
The RM6 billion ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant can generate about 1000MW and power up nearly two million households.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) Janamanjung managing director Datuk Shamsul Ahmad said the plant currently supplies about 24 per cent of the country's energy demand in Peninsular Malaysia, and would potentially reduce Malaysia's carbon intensity by 33 per cent.
“The world, and especially Malaysia, requires accessible, reliable and sustainable energy. We are proud to have put up the first ultra supercritical (USC) and largest coal-fired power plant in Southeast Asia.
“Manjung 4 was built in just four years and began commercial operations on April 14, 2015. Using the ultra-supercritical combustion technology, the plant can generate electricity with lower emissions as it is 10 percentage points more efficient than the global average coal-fired power plants.
“Each additional percentage point in efficiency reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 2 per cent and additional efficiency also lowers plant operating overall lifecycle costs,” he said in the first briefing on the plant to local and international media here recently.
General Electric Co (GE) was the EPC contractor for the power plant together with its consortium partner CMC Engineering.
During operations, Manjung 4 has met or exceeded original performance commitments to deliver more value to TNB by way of extremely high availability, particularly during second year of operation, achieving 94.5 per cent availability in the first two years.
“With more efficient power generation (elevating the efficiency of the plant to 40 per cent and usage of coal will be reduced by about 3 per cent), we ensure that the cost of generating electricity is minimised and remains friendly to the environment and communities,” added Shamsul.
Manjung 4 has benefitted from minimised unplanned downtime with an unplanned outage rate of only 2.4 per cent as at end August 2017 compared to the world standard at 4 per cent.
“We are aware of the need to sustain the environment we are in, and we will do our best to safeguard and sustain it. The use of USC technology enables Manjung 4 to convert energy more efficiently, burning less coal for more power while complying with emission standards,” said Shamsul.
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