Tallest Tropical Tree in the World, Tawau

Tawau, Sabah has the tallest tropical tree in the world.  In 2006, American scientist Dr Roman Dial and two friends climbed up a 'Seraya Kuning Siput' (Shorea faquetiana) in Tawau Hills Park or Taman Bukit Tawau. The trio risked life and climb in order to find out the accurate measurement of this tree, a tropical rainforest plant, located in the forest reserve of some 29,000 hectares.

After placing the end of the measuring tape at the tip of the highest point on the tree, Dr Dial, a professor in Biologi and Mathematic of Alaska Pacific University,  finally recorded the tree's height at 88.32 meters. That measurement made the Seraya Kuning Siput in Tawau Hills Park the highest tropical rainforest tree in the world.

After recording the tree's height, Dr Dial and his team then moved on to look for trees of other species in the park. In two square km there, they found seven more that measured more than 80 meters in height.

 

Source: SabahParks.org.my

Picture source: Sabah Parks.org.my and junglediary.com

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RM419 mln Tawau Geothermal Power Plant ready by 2015

TAWAU: The phase one of Tawau Green Energy Geothermal Power Plant involving generating capacity of 36MW is expected to be completed in 2015.

The power plant at Apas Kiri, which is the first renewable and sustainable project of its kind in Malaysia, will supply 30MW to the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) grid.

Sustainable Energy Development Authority of Malaysia (SEDA Malaysia) chairman Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn, who visited the project site yesterday, said  the plant will be Malaysia’s first grid-connected geothermal power plant.

Fong said the renewable power plant is a unique prospect in the district and it is also acceptable to everyone in the community.

The project undertaken by Tawau Green Energy Sdn Bhd (TGE)  will reduce the utilization of fossil fuel for power generation in the state grid in line with Malaysia’s sustainable development policy and global greenhouse gas emission reduction.

According to Fong, the process of producing electricity with a geothermal power plant is similar to other thermal power plants that use coal, oil or gas except that it does not require burning any fuel.

Instead, geothermal plant utilizes energy from the natural steam and hot water drawn from the geothermal reservoir, he explained.

The geothermal power plant is a form of green energy which does not require any fuel burning or combustion to produce heat or electricity, he said.

It emits little carbon dioxide, no nitrogen dioxide and very low amounts of sulfur dioxide, he added.

The project is estimated to cost RM419 million and it has also qualified to receive a grant of RM35million from the Private-Public Partnership Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department for the access road and water treatment plant.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/05/10/rm419-mln-tawau-geothermal-power-plant-ready-by-2015/#ixzz1utRJe73G

Photo Source: http://www.sustainabilityninja.com/government-industry-sustainability/us-energy-department-buys-wy-geothermal-plant-67293/

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