Bakun Dam Civil

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INTRODUCTION

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TYPES OF HYDROPOWER PLANTS

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AD!ANTA"ES DISAD!AN !ANTA"ES OF THE DA#

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%AC&"ROUND OF %A&UN DA#

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ISSUES

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STATE RE RESPONSE TO TO PE PEOPLE)S PR PROTEST IN IN #ALAYSIA

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DISEASES FRO# THE %A&UN DA# TRANS#ISSION OF %A&UN DA#

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CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION Moving Moving water water is a powerf powerful ul entity entity respons responsibl iblee for light lighting ing entir entiree cities cities,, even even countr countries ies.. Thousands of years ago the Greeks used water wheels, which picked up water in buckets around a wheel. The water’s weight caused the wheel to turn, converting kinetic energy into mechanical 2

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION Moving Moving water water is a powerf powerful ul entity entity respons responsibl iblee for light lighting ing entir entiree cities cities,, even even countr countries ies.. Thousands of years ago the Greeks used water wheels, which picked up water in buckets around a wheel. The water’s weight caused the wheel to turn, converting kinetic energy into mechanical 2

energy for grinding grain and pumping water. In the !""s the water wheel was often used to  power machines such as timber#cutting saws in $uropean and %merican factories. More importantly, people reali&ed that the force of water falling from a height would turn a turbine connected to a generator to produce electricity. 'iagara (alls, a natural waterfall, powered the first hydroelectric plant in !)*. +ydro means water’, so hydro power is water power. Thus, hydroelectric power is electricity generated using water power. -otential energy or the stored energy in a reservoir/ becomes kinetic energy moving energy/. This is changed to mechanical energy in a power plant, which is then turned into electrical energy. +ydroelectric power is a renewable resource. 0e have used running water as energy sources for thousands of years. 'owadays, there are many hydroelectric  power stations, providing around 1"2 of the world electricity. The largest hydroelectric dam in the world is 3ogun in Ta4ikistan. It stands over  """ feet tall.

To make electricity this way, the water is held in a reservoir, behind the dam, the water close to the control gates is where the intake is, and when the control gates open, the water rushes through through the penstock penstock and turns the turbine. turbine. %fter the water does so, it goes through the outflow into the river. The turbine spins the generator, and the electricity goes to the transformer in the

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 powerhouse. Then the transformer transforms the electricity into a usable form, and the electricity travels through the power lines and goes to homes and businesses. 5ne more thing that is needed is location. To build a dam there has to be valleys and rivers. This will help with the building of the dam. There has to be great location or it won’t work. The land cannot be flat, or there is no way to build a dam. Canada, 67%, the former 6773, 8ra&il, China,  'orway, 9apan, 7weden, India, and (rance all use hydroelectric energy. These countries are in order from the largest number of kilowatts in billions that are used eac h year.

HISTORY OF HYDROPOWER   'early 1""" years ago the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into flour. In the )""’s, hydropower was broadly used for milling of lumber and grain for pumping irrigation water. %ppleton, 0isconsin became the first operational hydroelectric generating station in the 6nited 4

7tates, in !!1, producing 1.: kilowatts k0/ of power. The total electrical capacity generated was e;uivalent to 1:" lights. 0ithin the ne"" produce power. The other dams are for recreation, stockBfarm ponds, flood control, 6

water supply and irrigation. +ydropower plants range in si&e from small systems for a home or village to large pro4ects producing electricity for utilities. I#POUND#ENT

The most common type of hydroelectric power plant is an impoundment facility. %n impoundment facility, typically a large hydropower system, uses a dam to store river water in a reservoir. 0ater released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity. The water may be released either to meet changing electricity needs or to maintain a constant reservoir level.

%n impoundment hydropower plant dams water in a reservoir 

DI!ERSION

% diversion, sometimes called run#of#river, facility channels a portion of a river through a canal or penstock. It may not re;uire the use of a dam.

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The Ta&imina pro4ect in %laska is an e"#F"2. Eong Eife  +ydro -lants has a very long life around :"#"" years which is much longer than that of even 'uclear -ower -lants. The long life implies that the lifecycle cost of a +ydel -ower -lant becomes very low in the long term. +ydroelectric power might be the most widely used of the alternative energy sources given that the flow of energy can be regulated, and the large ;uantities of energy which can be generated from a single dam.

DISAD!ANTA"ES OF THE DA# 7ince the most feasible sites for dams are in hilly or mountainous areas, the faults that often created the topography pose a great danger to the dams and therefore the land below them for thousands of years after they have become useless for generating power. In fact, dam failures do occur regularly due to these terrain conditions, and the effects are devastating. 0hen a new dam’s reservoir floods the countryside, people who live in the area have to move and relin;uish their former lifestyles in order to make way for the pro4ect. This is very stressful and often controversial, especially if a community has maintained a particular way of life on the same land for generations. 14

The construction of a dam not only affects the people nearby, it can severely alter a river’s natural functions. %ccording to %merican 3ivers, a conservation organi&ation, by diverting water for power, dams remove water needed for healthy in#stream ecosystems. 7tretches below dams are often completely dewatered.D This may not seem like a significant problem until animal species are studied. 8irds that have migrated to a specific riparian environment for generations no longer have enough insects on which to prey when the water level drops. If they have few migration alternatives, that could mean the endangerment of species that once flourished. (ish species such as salmon depend on steady flows to flush them down river early in their life and guide them upstream years later to spawn. 7tagnant reservoir pools disorient migrating fish and significantly increase the duration of their migration. 'ative populations of fish may decrease or disappear altogether due to temperature changes caused by dams. 7lower water flow means warmer temperatures, and bottom#release of cold water means cooler temperatures. 7everal of hydropower’s disadvantages focus on fish. It is easy to forget how important fish and other a;uatic life are, some of which reside at the bottom of the food chain. The environmental changes caused by hydroelectric pro4ects may be obvious to the local  biologist, but elude the average person. Most people will more readily notice a smoggy ha&e developing in an area where a coal plant is operating than a smaller population of a particular  bird species where a hydropower facility functions. 7uch oversights lead people to believe that nothing is wrong. +ydroelectric companies and organi&ations often emphasi&e their cleanD manufacture of electricity and neglect to mention the long#term environmental ha&ards. ?ams hold back silt, debris and nutrients.D 7ilt collects behind the dam on the river bottom, accumulating heavy metals and other pollutants. $ventually this renders the dam inoperable, leaving the mess for future generations, who will either have to remove the collected debris or live with a potentially catastrophic mudflow poised to inundate the area below the dam. There is also a debate between preserving rivers for their aesthetic value versus meeting the energy needs of thousands of people. The latter has prevailed. Today there are F"".""" river miles impounded behind dams. In contrast, only ",""" river miles not even half of 2/ is 15

 permanently protected under the 'ational 0ild and 7cenic 3ivers 7ystem.D The only undammed river in the 67 that is longer than F"" miles is the @ellowstone. In Malaysia, there are many dam already built all over the country. 7uch as Terengganu +ydroelectric ?am with >""M0 installed capacity 7ultan Mahmud -ower 7tation >H""M0/, Cameron +ighlands ?am 1F1M0 installed capacity 9or ?am ""M0, 0oh ?am :"M0, 5dak ?am >.1M0, +abu ?am :.:M0, ampung 3a4a ?am ".!M0, ampung Terla ?am ".:M0, 3obinson (alls ?am ".*M0/, 7ungai -erak +ydroelectric ?am installed capacity 8ersia ?am )1M0, Chenderoh -ower 7tation >".:M0, enering -ower 7tation 1"M0, 7ungai -iah upper dam >.FM0, 7ungai -iah lower dam :>M0, Temenggor -ower 7tation =>!M0/.

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CHAPTER $ %AC&"ROUND OF %A&UN DA#

%AC&"ROUND OF %A&UN DA# The 8akun ?am is situated on the 8akun 3apids at the confluence of the 3a4ang and 8alui 3ivers, in 7arawak, $ast -eninsular Malaysia. This dam is estimated to produce 1>"" M0s of hydropower and would cost =.: billion 3inggits =.F billion 67?/. The pro4ect included a plan for F:" kilometres of undersea electricity transmission lines to transmit electricity from 7arawak to -eninsular Malaysia, and some related infrastructure such as roads, a new township and an airport. The 8akun ?am pro4ect contains a 1" metre high concrete dam, which will create a catchments area of >,):" s; kilometres, and floods a tract of F*,F>" hectares of 7arawakJs primary rainforest, roughly the si&e of 7ingapore. It will be the biggest of its kind in 7outheast %sia once construction is completed. The pro4ect was first proposed in *!F, approved  by the cabinet in **>, and shelved in **) during the %sian economic crisis. This pro4ect was revived in *** in a scaled#back version with :"" M0 capacities, but the decision was revised 17

again in 1"" to revert to its original 1>"" M0 scale, though without the installation of the F"" kilometres of undersea cable. 8akun ?am is currently under construction and is e"" M0 without submarine cable, smacks of very irresponsible policy making. %lmost certainly, no serious attempt has been made to 4ustify the pro4ect in terms of energy needs and supplyD Thompson  +ui, 1""/. More than ",""" indigenous people from : communities used to live along the 3a4ang and 8alui 3iver. They have been forcibly displaced and relocated to the government#sponsored resettlement area located at ampung 7ungai %sap %sap 3iver Killage/ and ampung 7ungai oyan oyan 3iver Killage/. The Coalition of Concerned 'G5s on 8akun Gabungan/, the 8akun 3egion -eopleJs Committee 83-C/, 7ahabat %lam Malaysia#7%M (riends of the $arth/ and other members of Malaysian civil society are providing support to the affected indigenous  people in their fight against the 8akun ?am pro4ect. These groups believe that the only real solution is shelving the pro4ect. They address the growing crisis faced by people displaced by the  pro4ect, and advocate a more realistic, sustainable, transparent and democratic approach to the issue of energy needs and supply in Malaysia. +owever, policy makers do not provide any information to the 8akun residents nor arrange any dialogue and consultation with the different tribal groups regarding the details of compensation or resettlement schemes. In ***, the authorities carried out the codenamed 5peration $"" M0 hydropower dam was meant to bring development and progress to the  people of 7arawak. -ictures now disclosed to the public, however, show its real conse;uencesA displaced indigenous communities forced to live in floating homes and the destruction of a uni;ue rainforest habitat that counts among the most biodiverse in the world. The e