The Murum Dam in Kapit Sarawak will become the world's largest floating solar farm. Masdar Abu Dhabi, Sarawak Energy and Gentari have signed a joint agreement to conduct a feasibility study aimed at evaluating the potential of a large-scale floating solar installation at the Murum dam today.
The project is expected to be able to run up to 1GW of power sustainably and at the same time increase Sarawak's ability to generate 10GW of electricity by 2030. The world record floating solar farm is located in Dezhou China with a capacity of 320MW.
The assessment will include technical feasibility, environmental impact and economic viability to determine whether the project can be successfully implemented.
If deemed feasible, this floating solar farm could strengthen Sarawak's sustainable energy capacity and make it a pilot model for floating solar projects throughout Southeast Asia. It also supports Sarawak's ambition to be a leader in clean energy development and export in Southeast Asia as well as Malaysia's target of generating 31% of energy sustainably by 2025.
In addition to the Murum dam, the Sarawak government last June was also interested in building a floating solar farm at the Bakun dam. Sarawak already has a 190-hectare floating solar farm at the Batang Ai dam that is capable of generating 50MW of electricity. Apart from Sarawak, floating solar farms have already been built at Kenyir Dam, Chenderoh Dam and Temenggor Dam.