Prospects of Renewable Energy Development Within Remote or Rural Areas in Indonesia

Abstract

Despite fluctuations in the price of oil used in renewable energies and technologies that are not yet competitive, the prospect of developing renewable energy in remote or rural areas in Indonesia still has potential. This is supported by several conditions; Indonesia’s laws and regulations related to the independence of the energy sector, which are intended to ensure the availability of energy throughout Indonesia by using the maximum potential of domestic energy sources; the wide Indonesian archipelago, consisting of 17,499 islands and long coastline (104.00 km); and the wide variety of potential sources of renewable energy in each region of Indonesia, such as wind energy, hydro power, geothermal, solar and bioenergy (biomass, biogas, and biofuel). Those kinds of renewable energies could be implemented after conducting a feasibility study. This research aims to assess the feasibility of producing and consuming renewable energy in order to create energy independence in rural areas of Indonesia and takes into account that creating energy independence in remote or rural areas (EIRRA) requires a serious effort, with integrated and comprehensive components and actors associated with energy production, distribution, and consumption. Also, local wisdom on the availability, capability, and potential of energy resources should be taken into consideration. Remote or rural areas that are energy independent can be realized when energy is integrated into policies regarding intensification, diversification, conservation, and indexation programs. Those programs should be in line with integration of the Eco Energy program into the concept of sustainable energy development and environmental care, which means that energy needs to take environmental aspects and economic conditions into account. This is also in line with the agreement made during COP-21, held in Paris in December 2015, which was intended to tackle climate change with efforts to convert energy from fossil fuels to non–fossil fuels. The importance of the COP-21 meeting lies in the Indonesian commitment to climate change with respect to reducing carbon emissions (greenhouse gases). We hope that in 2050 the world is directed toward 100% renewable energy. The research methodology used here applies both qualitative and quantitative methods using the available data.