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Behind an ambitious megaproject in Asia: The history and implications of the Bakun hydroelectric dam in Borneo

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  • Sovacool, Benjamin K.
  • Bulan, L.C.

Abstract

Using a case-study, inductive, narrative approach, this article explores the history, drivers, benefits, and barriers to the Bakun Hydroelectric Project in East Malaysia. Situated on the island of Borneo, Bakun Dam is a 204Â m high concrete face, rock filled dam on the Balui River in the Upper Rajang Basin in the rainforests of Sarawak. Bakun Dam and its affiliated infrastructure could be the single largest and most expensive energy project ever undertaken in Southeast Asia. Based on data collected through site visits, original field research in Sarawak, and more than 80 research interviews, the article begins by teasing out the complex history and drivers behind the Bakun project before identifying a set of potential social, political, and economic benefits the project could deliver. It then delves into six sets of barriers in the technical, economic, political, legal and regulatory, social, and environmental realms. We find that Bakun illustrates how centralized energy megaprojects, while ostensibly championed for reasons of economies of scale and the ability to bring about transformational change in the shortest period of time, often fail to address broader development goals such as fighting energy poverty and improving the livelihoods of the local communities they are supposed to serve.

Suggested Citation

  • Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Bulan, L.C., 2011. "Behind an ambitious megaproject in Asia: The history and implications of the Bakun hydroelectric dam in Borneo," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 4842-4859, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:39:y:2011:i:9:p:4842-4859
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    6. Ansar, Atif & Flyvbjerg, Bent & Budzier, Alexander & Lunn, Daniel, 2014. "Should we build more large dams? The actual costs of hydropower megaproject development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 43-56.
    7. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Bulan, L.C., 2012. "Energy security and hydropower development in Malaysia: The drivers and challenges facing the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 113-129.
    8. Morimoto, Risako, 2013. "Incorporating socio-environmental considerations into project assessment models using multi-criteria analysis: A case study of Sri Lankan hydropower projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 643-653.
    9. Sascha Samadi, 2017. "The Social Costs of Electricity Generation—Categorising Different Types of Costs and Evaluating Their Respective Relevance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-37, March.
    10. Preetha K. V. & Ajit Menon, 2019. "Neo-Liberalising Energy Production: The Making and Unmaking of an Ultra Mega Power Project in South India," Review of Development and Change, , vol. 24(2), pages 242-258, December.
    11. Tamm, Ottar & Tamm, Toomas, 2020. "Verification of a robust method for sizing and siting the small hydropower run-of-river plant potential by using GIS," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 153-159.
    12. Costa, Francisco J M & Szerman, Dimitri & Assunção, Juliano, 2018. "Local Economic Impacts of Hydroelectric Power Plants: Evidence from Brazil," SocArXiv kzhs6, Center for Open Science.
    13. Peter Ho & Bin Md Saman Nor-Hisham & Heng Zhao, 2020. "Limits of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in Malaysia: Dam Politics, Rent-Seeking, and Conflict," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-16, December.
    14. Callegari, C. & Szklo, A. & Schaeffer, R., 2018. "Cost overruns and delays in energy megaprojects: How big is big enough?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 211-220.
    15. Curran, Franziska & Smart, Simon & Lacey, Justine & Greig, Chris & Lant, Paul, 2018. "Learning from experience in the water sector to improve access to energy services," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 41-50.
    16. Ho, Lip-Wah, 2016. "Wind energy in Malaysia: Past, present and future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 279-295.
    17. de Faria, Felipe A.M. & Davis, Alex & Severnini, Edson & Jaramillo, Paulina, 2017. "The local socio-economic impacts of large hydropower plant development in a developing country," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 533-544.
    18. Laurence Delina, 2017. "Multilateral development banking in a fragmented climate system: shifting priorities in energy finance at the Asian Development Bank," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 73-88, February.
    19. Rebecca Peters & Jürgen Berlekamp & Ana Lucía & Vittoria Stefani & Klement Tockner & Christiane Zarfl, 2021. "Integrated Impact Assessment for Sustainable Hydropower Planning in the Vjosa Catchment (Greece, Albania)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, February.
    20. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Enevoldsen, Peter, 2015. "One style to build them all: Corporate culture and innovation in the offshore wind industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 402-415.
    21. Llamosas, Cecilia & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2021. "The future of hydropower? A systematic review of the drivers, benefits and governance dynamics of transboundary dams," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    22. Horn, Christine & Gifford, Sandra M. & Ting, Christina Y.P., 2021. "Informal, essential and embedded: Transport strategies in remote Sarawak," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    23. Papadakis C. Nikolaos & Fafalakis Marios & Katsaprakakis Dimitris, 2023. "A Review of Pumped Hydro Storage Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-39, June.

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