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This article examines the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy in Malaysia, or SCORE, a US $105 billion infrastructure development plan in Sarawak on the island of Borneo, from a sustainability standpoint. SCORE aims to build 20,000 megawatts of hydroelectric dams along a 320 km corridor comprising more than 70,000 km by 2030. The article begins by explaining social science methods utilized for its research interviews and site visits. It then argues that sustainability consists of seven principles articulated in international law: prudence, equity, responsibility, precaution, justice, governance, and compatibility. Next, the paper introduces readers to SCORE before assessing it according to these seven sustainability criteria. The paper finds that SCORE erodes environmental prudence by emitting millions of tons of carbon dioxide and feeding industries that will pollute the land and water. It worsens intergenerational equity by exacerbating poverty and consolidating wealth for corporations and politicians. It degrades responsibility by intensifying tropical deforestation and flaunts precaution by downplaying and ignoring risks to water quality and availability. It is unjust, imposing dams on communities and forcibly relocating thousands of indigenous people, mitigates good governance by condoning bribes and kickbacks along with the violent suppression of dissent, and is incompatible with Malaysia's own energy policy targets and international standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article investigates the drivers and challenges associated with the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy in Malaysia, or SCORE, on the island of Borneo. SCORE constitutes a multi-hundred billion dollar infrastructure development plan in Sarawak, one aiming to achieve US$105 billion of investment and to build 20,000 MW of hydroelectric dams along a 320 km corridor crisscrossing 70,000 square kilometers. Based largely on primary data collected through site visits, original field research in Sarawak, and more than eighty research interviews, the article identifies the genesis of SCORE, its expected benefits, and challenges with implementation encountered to date. The article begins by describing its research methods and then summarizes four sets of anticipated benefits discussed by respondents associated with SCORE: industrialization, energy security, equitable development, and spillover effects. It then dives into a longer discussion of the technical, economic, political, legal and regulatory, social, and environmental challenges facing the project. The article concludes by offering implications for those wishing to promote other large-scale, energy infrastructure projects throughout the world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article examines the strategy of electrification for Sarawak which centers on large-scale hydroelectric projects. Drawing from extensive in-field interviews of stakeholders in Sarawak who are affected by the soon-to-be-completed 2400megawatt (MW) Bakun Hydroelectric Project, this article presents documentary evidence that these “hard path” mega energy projects are economically, socially and ecologically sub-optimal. The study suggests that more rigorous development of “soft path” small-scale, decentralized renewable energy systems more effectively support development and electrification aspirations for the region. The paper concludes with an analysis which invalidates the rationale for supporting mega projects yet recognizes that powerful advocates pose significant threats to a transition from hard to soft energy paths. It puts forth a concluding recommendation that pressure to scale down these mega projects and bolster decentralized, small-scale initiatives represents the most feasible approach to optimizing rural electrification in Sarawak. Overall, this case study provides both a detailed analysis of the inadequacies of mega energy projects in supporting economic development in less affluent regions and insight into how to strategically facilitate ideological change from hard (mega projects) to soft (decentralized energy systems) energy paths. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article examines the energy security implications of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy in Malaysia (SCORE), a US$105 billion infrastructure development plan in Sarawak on the island of Borneo. SCORE aims to build a series of hydroelectric dams along a 320-kilometer corridor by 2030. The article begins by explaining the methodology utilized for its research interviews and site visits. It goes on to argue that energy security in Southeast Asia should consist of simultaneously improving the availability, affordability, efficiency and stewardship of energy services for end users. Availability involves diversifying the fuels and technologies in energy production and minimizing dependence on imports; affordability means providing electricity and fuel within the income range of most consumers; efficiency means improving the performance of equipment and lowering demand for energy; and stewardship is minimizing political, social, and environmental hazards associated with energy production and consumption. The paper next introduces the SCORE project before making an assessment utilizing the four criteria of energy security. While SCORE partially improves availability, we argue that it erodes aspects of affordability, efficiency and stewardship. Cost overruns and delays in financing will make the electricity from SCORE suitable only to industrial users, not the energy poor. SCORE is predicated on the assumption that electricity demand should grow greatly in the future rather than the idea that energy efficiency and demand side management programmes should attempt to reduce growth in demand for electricity. SCORE also has a pernicious set of social, environmental and political consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]