Renewable Energy for Villages

On a number of occasions, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has warned of the threat of an energy crisis, in addition to a food crisis. The Ukraine-Russia war has disrupted energy supplies from Russia to several European countries.

Political tensions, speculation of increasing demand and fears of supply disruption have pushed up crude oil prices in the world. In facing the threat of an energy crisis, several things can be implemented in the context of increasing energy supply in Indonesia's rural areas.

Data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry show that the electrification rate in Indonesia reached 99.2 percent in 2020. Although the figure is relatively high, are still a number of challenges regarding the provision of electricity in rural areas.

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First, 0.8 percent of the areas that have not received electricity are in villages. Moreover, the definition of electrification is based on the number of villages, not households. It means that there is a possibility a village has received electricity, but only a small number of households can enjoy it.

Due to limited supplies, villagers cannot enjoy electricity 24 hours a day.

Second, among villages that have already received electricity, many still need a reliable and sustainable electricity supply. Due to limited supplies, villagers cannot enjoy electricity 24 hours a day.

The third challenge is the need to use renewable-energy sources in rural areas. As part of efforts in coping with climate change, all economic activities, including the energy sector, are encouraged to decrease their carbon emission. Moreover, Indonesia has also launched an energy-mix target in which new and renewable-energy sources (EBT) will account for 23 percent by 2025. Until the end of 2021, new and renewal energy only accounted for 11.7 percent.

The development of renewable energy in rural areas is also quite relevant, especially if it is associated with the threat of an energy crisis. More than 80 percent of the world's energy sources come from fossil fuels. If the energy in rural areas still relies on fossil sources, the potential impact of the world-energy crisis in the villages will be even greater.

From the supply side, Indonesia's potential renewable-energy sources, such as biomass, biogas, water, solar and wind, are abundant. However, utilization is still far below its potential.

The potential of the solar energy in the country is estimated to amount to 207 gigawatts (GW), but only 0.15 GW (0.07 percent) has been tapped. Indonesia also has wind-energy potential of 60.6 GW, but only

0.15 GW (0.25 percent) has been used; the water-energy potential (mini and microhydro) is estimated to amount to 75 GW, but only 6.08 GW (8.1 percent) has been developed.

There is ample evidence that the development of renewable-energy sources in rural areas has succeeded in overcoming limited energy supply. Mrs. Tri Mumpuni of the Ibeka Foundation has built no less than 80 micro-hydro power plants (PLTMH) in a number of parts of Indonesia, from Special Region of Aceh to Papua. Many solar-power plants have also been built, both by the government and by individuals (private). Biogas is widely developed as part of the Energy Independent Village program.

Time to collaborate

There are several issues related to the development and utilization of renewable energy in rural areas. Technically, the high initial installation cost, as in the case of solar-energy utilization, has often discouraged potential users. Improved efficiency is needed to reduce costs.

Indonesia also has no shortage of experts in this field. Wilson Wenas (Bandung Institute of Technology), for example, is an expert in solar-panel technology. One of the goals is to find a more efficient blend of solar-panel materials. In developing wind energy, there is Lentera Angin Nusantara (LAN), an organization consisting of young Indonesians who are concerned about the lack of wind energy utilization in the country.

In addition, financial management related to the installation costs also takes into account the proceeds from the sale of salt.

Not only technical expertise abounds. In terms of finance, there have also been initiatives from the community, such as the Indonesian Village Energy Nusantara Cooperative (KENDI). It does not only help install solar energy equipment for its members, but also provides financing schemes. In Sumenep, Madura, KENDI has helped to build a solar-power plant (PLTS) for a salt factory. In addition, financial management related to the installation costs also takes into account the proceeds from the sale of salt.

Many organizations have been engaged in the field of renewable-energy sources in rural areas. These organizations should work together so that they can provide a greater contribution to achieving energy independence in Indonesian villages, by utilizing renewable-energy sources.

KOMPAS/EMANUEL EDI SAPUTRA

Technicians check a manual sluice gate on Monday (16/7/2018) at a micro hydro power plant (PLTMH) at Kuang hamlet of Sempatung village in Landak regency, West Kalimantan.

Talking about the energy crisis reminds me of a documentary, How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. This film tells the story of Cuba's conditions in the early 1990s in its efforts to survive the lack of oil supplies. Approximately 90 percent of the energy in Cuba was imported from the Soviet Union (at the time) which was facing a political crisis.

The energy crisis had an impact on the decline in the welfare of the Cuban people. However, there were hidden gifts from the crisis, including the growing use of solar energy (though now, 30 years later, 90 percent of the country's energy sources are turning to fossil fuels).

We certainly do not to want to fall into an energy crisis first (like Cuba) in order to pay more serious attention to renewable-energy sources.

FE UNPAR

Siwi Nugraheni

SIWI NUGRAHENI, Lecturer at the School of Economics at Parahyangan Catholic University

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)