Clearing the Way for Electricity
Villagers in Kalangaan dig the trench for a microhydro system to be completed in September. Because the systems divert a small part of the Papar river, they protect the overall watershed and provide electricity as the water flows over a turbine.
Big Hydro Threatens to Wipe Out Little Hydro in Malaysia
Tensions are rising over a large proposed dam that would flood six rural villages—and their microhydro systems—to provide power and water to cities.
Nestled within the rain forest of Malaysian Borneo, a handful of villages are so remote they don't even have roads. They do, however, have electricity.
The villages draw on the nearby Papar River's current to generate enough power to run lights, refrigerators, and phone-chargers for up to 50 households. The systems, dubbed "microhydro," are small-scale versions of the same hydroelectric dams that help power large cities.
Now, however, a controversial proposal to build a bigger dam threatens to wipe out at least six villages with such systems that are either installed or almost complete. The Kaiduan dam would provide drinking water and electricity for urban areas on the west coast.
The government has said it would relocate some 2,000 people whose homes would
