Clean Energy, Cleaner Environment

Clean Energy, Cleaner Environment

By: Scott Younger

Forbes Indonesia

THE ENERGY sphere has been taking up much space in the press as the government struggles to provide what they term as affordable electricity by emphasizing its commitment to the use of fossil fuels over the coming months through to election of the next government during next year. While politically understandable, this once again defers any serious effort to engage with pushing the renewable energy agenda, much to the clear frustration of many business players trying to invest in the various renewable energy forms that would be available across the archipelago.
 
As well as having vast resources of low ranking to thermal quality coal, primarily located in Sumatra and Kalimantan, the country has an astonishing potential in its wide portfolio of renewable resources, as much indeed as would more than fulfil all current demand and more, even taking aside locations where development would not be viable.
 
Renewable technologies are improving by the year and will so continue into the future. Analysis of solar power, the potential for which for the archipelago has been assessed at over 200 GW, using the levelised cost of energy with full life cycle evaluation, shows that in many places it is cheaper to use than coal, not a consideration yet taken up by government.
 
The country must continue to use its large investment in the coal sector, but it should start making a serious effort to phasing out its large dependency on diesel,
 
Current total national production of electricity, predominantly serving Java and other highly populated urban areas of the west of the country, is measured as less than one-third of the solar potential for the country.
 
It is obvious, however, that the country must continue to use its large investment in the coal sector, but it should start making a serious effort to phasing out its large dependency on diesel, which is imported and expensive and certainly not contributing to cleaning up the atmosphere through reducing carbon dioxide and other unwanted emissions. Any effort to date is abysmal.
 
For future coal plants, the technology is there to use more efficient (ultra-super-critical) turbines, and old, inefficient and ‘dirty’ plants should be phased out. A method to provide a means of significantly improving the quality of low-ranked coal is finally becoming available in the U.S., and very appropriate for Indonesian deposits of this.
 
In the meantime, rather than greatly expand the number of additional new coal plants, the government should be making every effort to provide a regulatory structure that is encouraging to potential investors in renewable solutions. At this stage the gulf is wide.
 
These solutions are particularly valid for the eastern regions of the country, where there are many thousands of communities with small population densities and well scattered. Some of these, usually coastally located, are served by diesel supply, although often not always regularly and insufficiently, and furthermore sometimes ‘dead’ diesel generators!
 
In short there are several obvious actions that can be taken fairly quickly which would help uplift many underperforming areas of the country through putting in place a suitable renewable energy solution some, such as solar being quick to install.
 
A few FI issues ago I raised the issue of cleaning up transport by moving away from the use of fossil powered vehicles through promoting the use of hybrid and full electric-powered vehicles. Apart from the huge losses incurred in major cities, such as Jakarta, where traffic jam losses have been assessed as costing the country $5 billion/annum, there is also the unmeasured cost on the damage to health of the citizens.
 
It is therefore pleasing to see press articles showing that the major car manufacturers serving the country are themselves now taking up the challenge and going into production of the next generation of powering transport. Obviously, refueling stations will have to match this initiative with suitable charging points and, even for these, the technology is moving so that recharging a battery will be effected in a matter of minutes. One step towards the development of a smart city! F

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