Ulu Jelai Power Station

Ulu Jelai Power Station
Stesen Janakuasa Ulu Jelai
Ulu Jelai Power Station ; Stesen Janakuasa Ulu Jelai
Country	Malaysia
Location	Cameron Highlands, Pahang
Coordinates	4°27′1″N 101°35′7″E / 4.45028°N 101.58528°E
Purpose	Power, flood control
Status	Operational
Construction began	March 1, 2011
Opening date	2016
Construction cost	RM2.4 billion
Owner(s)	Tenaga Nasional Berhad
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity dam
Impounds	Bertam river
Height	88 m (289 ft)
Length	500 m (1,640 ft)
Width (crest)	3 m (10 ft)
Width (base)	115 m (377 ft)
Spillway capacity	2,300 m3/s (81,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Susu reservoir
Catchment area	0.1 km2 (0.039 sq mi)
Normal elevation	540 m (1,772 ft)
Ulu Jelai Power Station
Commission date	2016
Type	Underground
Hydraulic head	Rated: 330 m (1,083 ft); Maximum: 335 m (1,099 ft)
Turbines	2 × 191 MW vertical Francis-type
Installed capacity	382 MW
Capacity factor	8%
Annual generation	282 GWh (1,020 TJ) (estimated)

The Ulu Jelai Power Station (Malay: Stesen Janakuasa Ulu Jelai) is a hydroelectric power station located in the district of Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. It is one of the entry point projects under the Economic Transformation Programme.^[1]

Location

The project is located approximately 150 km north of Kuala Lumpur. The nearest town is Ringlet, 40 km away. The power station is accessible from Federal Route 102, connecting the towns of Ringlet and Sungai Koyan. It is located within Ulu Jelai and Bukit Jerut forest reserves, near Cameron Highlands-Lipis district border.

Specifications

The power station has a maximum generating capacity of 382 MW. Water from 3 rivers - the Sungai Bertam, Sungai Telom and Sungai Lemoi is used for electricity generation. A dam is built to impound the Sungai Bertam. Weirs and diversion tunnels are built on the Sungai Telom and Sungai Lemoi to divert water into the main reservoir at Sungai Bertam. From the reservoir, water is channeled into a series of tunnels 15 km-long to generate electricity before being released back into Sungai Telom.

The power cavern houses 2 units of Francis turbines each with a generating capacity of 191 MW.

Construction

TM-Salini Consortium has been appointed as the main contractor. Construction commenced in March 2011.^[2] The 88m-high roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam on Sungai Bertam was built after Sungai Bertam has been successfully diverted. The RCC mix is of low cementitious content and aggregates were sourced from a nearby quarry.

All tunnels and caverns were excavated using drill and blast method except for the diversion tunnels which utilised a 3m-diameter tunnel boring machine. Lining of tunnels depended upon the rock conditions and water pressure - concrete and steel are used as lining materials. The surge shaft was excavated using the raised boring technique. Unit 1 is expected to be commissioned in December 2015 while Unit 2 in March 2016.

The construction of this project resulted in the relocation of 3 orang Asli villages - Kampung Susu, Kampung Tiat and Kampung Pinang.

The reservoir impounding started on 18 January 2016 and reach the full supply level on 16 May 2016.

Unit 2 was the first unit being commissioned due to some issues with the commissioning of Unit 1. Commercial operation of Unit 2 was at 0000 hours on 15 August 2016.

Issues

Sedimentation is a major issue for Sungai Bertam and Sungai Telom due to uncontrolled clearing of land.^[3] A check dam has been constructed upstream of the main reservoir on Sungai Bertam. The check dam is able to reduce the amount of sediment entering the reservoir and prolonging the reservoir life. A desanding system has been constructed at the intake of Sungai Telom for the same purpose.^[4]

References

^ Pemandu. "Tenaga Nasional Infrastructure Investment". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
^ "Utusan Online - English Version". ww2.utusan.com.my. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
^ Isabell Lai (2013-05-19). "Hills 'raped' at an alarming rate". Star Publications (M) Bhd. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
^ Ag, Paul Büetiger. "Malaysia". www.swisssedtech.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2016-08-31.