Gatot Prawiro, Jakarta
Driven by population and economic growth, Indonesia, like the rest of Asia, faces the challenge of meeting greater energy demand while minimizing adverse impacts on the environment. Against this backdrop, energy security and cleaner energy have become hot topics of public discussion.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said earlier this year the government aims to have 2,000 energy self-sufficient villages powered by hydro, solar or biofuel resources by 2009, compared with just 140 villages currently. By 2025, the government targets to derive 17 percent of its energy supply from modern renewable energy resources, up from 5 percent today.
Creating a technologically diverse portfolio lessens the risks associated with overreliance on a particular fuel or fuel source. It allows more efficient deployment of resources to the different segments of a market, lowering overall greenhouse gas emissions.
The challenge will be to drive down the initial cost of generating electricity (COE) from new technologies, to be commercially competitive with existing technologies.
It is important to understand that reducing the cost of electricity has a significant impact on businesses and consumers, as efficient power generation is one of the fundamental building blocks of a competitive economy.
In the short term, this may require subsidies from policy-makers, as the capital investment and COE for emerging technologies tend to be significantly higher than existing technologies. In the longer term, many new technologies are more economically viable, with lower operation and maintenance (O&M) cost and substantially lower or no fuel cost, as in the case of solar and wind.
Worldwide, there will be a stronger demand for promising technologies, which include the following:
Cleaner coal technology. Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology converts coal into a cleaner-burning fuel, which then is used in a gas turbine combined-cycle system to generate electricity.
Compared to conventional pulverized coal plants, the IGCC process emits less than half of the sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, and up to 90 percent less mercury. The process uses less water than a traditional plant and can be configured for carbon capture.
Biogas and landfill gas technology. There is a great potential for these technologies in Indonesia. Landfill methane and biomass gas are attractive alternatives to fossil fuels. Biogas-fueled gas engines improve waste management while maximizing the use of an economical, renewable energy supply that we have in abundance.
The ability to use landfill methane gas in engines allows operators to convert a problem waste gas to an energy source.
Wind power technology. Over the past several years, wind has been the fastest growing sector of the power industry, with more than 74,000 megawatts of wind generating capacity installed worldwide.
The Indonesian government is currently evaluating the potential of wind energy. This will be another major renewable energy resource for Indonesia as it has the right topography in many areas to harvest the power of wind. Wind energy does not require any fuel in its generation process, making it a truly clean energy resource.
Solar technology (photovoltaics). Solar energy is seeing rapid growth, with 38 percent growth in new installations between 2000 and 2005 globally. The price of Solar PV, which converts sunlight into electric currents has been falling steadily, such that it is now becoming affordable for some urban homes and businesses. Some Indonesian fishermen have even installed solar systems to power freezers for storing their catch.
Solar generated electricity, powering the equivalent of 12,000 homes, can displace carbon dioxide emissions equal to the amount absorbed annually by more than 22,000 acres of forest. Like wind, solar power generation has zero fuel cost and zero emissions.
Worldwide, people will see a cleaner tomorrow only through the adoption of cleaner, more energy-efficient production and consumption technologies. When this happens, society, business and the environment will benefit.
The writer is Country Executive GE Energy Indonesia. The views here are personal.
