RENEWABLE ENERGY UTILIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDONESIA

Abstract

Although Indonesia is a member of OPEC but within the next 10 years or so it isprojected that the country will become a net oil importer. Fortunately, the country is alsoblessed with potential amount of renewable energy sources, which can be tappedimmediately to support sustainable development of the region within the country. It isestimated that renewable energy potential in Indonesia comprises of approximately 459MW from micro hydro, 20000 MW from geothermal, and 885 GJ/ year from biomass Inaddition, solar energy is available almost all year round with a rate of about 4.8kWh/m2/day while wind energy with > 4m/s can be found in East Nusatenggara, WestNusatenggara, South and Southeast Sulawesi, the Northern and Southern part of Java.<br><br>Biomass energy is being utilized effectively in oil palm and sugar plantationswhile solar PV and micro-hydro have been promoted for rural electrification program.The paper will present the current status of renewable energy development and utilizationin Indonesia with emphasize on field experiences on renewable energy applications toprovide energy supply for small agro-processing units. The main objective of the projectwas to promote capacity building and empowerment of small and medium industries andcooperatives using locally available resources.