Research in Energy and Environment

Research Activities

(1) Air Quality Management Initiatives for Kuala Lumpur

This research project addresses three interrelated issues concerning air quality management in Kuala Lumpur: i) poor organization and communication among stakeholders, ii) insufficient publicly available data on heightened air pollutant concentrations near emission sources, and iii) a disproportionate exposure to air pollution by vulnerable groups (e.g. urban poor). This project will investigate and identify air quality stakeholders, enhance the current database of publicly available air quality data through air pollution monitoring at specific hot-spots, and compare air quality and demographic data to infer the relative exposure of vulnerable populations.

A limited number of representative sites hot-spots are used to infer the air quality situation at similar locations. This work will provide a model for examining air pollution data and developing air quality management initiatives with an explicit recognition of the competing interests among different stakeholders and concern for the disproportionate exposure among certain vulnerable populations.

MUST Principal Investigators: Dr. Scott Kennedy, Dr. Moazzem Hossain

(2) Design and Implementation of Remote Hybrid Power Systems for Rural Electrification

Providing a cost-effective, reliable, and sustainable electricity supply to remote communities in rural Sabah and Sarawak has remained a significant challenge. While reliable technologies for remote power systems exist (e.g. diesel generators, wind turbines, solar photovoltaics, micro-hydro), their successful deployment has been hindered by high capital costs, poor long-term planning, and other challenges in implementation. This research project will attempt to address this problem through a pilot project and research study for a designated rural community in Sarawak. The project will have three main objectives: 1) design of the physical system for electricity generation, 2) development of improved planning and simulation tools, and 3) analysis of strategies and financing mechanisms for rapid technology diffusion.

Hybrid power systems that utilize wind power, micro-hydro, and pumped water energy storage have promising potential for many remote communities in Sabah and Sarawak; yet there is relatively little experience in their deployment. The research project will therefore focus on the technical design of wind-hydro hybrid systems and improvements in planning tools used to assess their feasibility.

MUST Principal Investigator: Dr. Scott Kennedy