J

AKARTA: Indonesia has been urged to use a certified method to realize the government’s agenda of boosting the use of renewable energy in the country, an expert has said.

Indonesian Science Institute (LIPI) chairman Iskandar Zulkarnain said in a recent discussion that the government could more efficiently track the quantity of renewable energy using a certified method. Such a method would also improve energy distribution.

One example is the use of metrology, which is the science of measurement for industry and technology that includes calibration — the verification between object and measuring tool — and instrumentation — the measure of variables within a manufacturing area — to get a correct quantity.

Iskandar pointed to solar power plant projects that will see 1,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity installed in over 1,000 islands across the archipelago. “Huge projects like these need a better scope of measurement. Metrology technology is important to guarantee efficiency,” he added.

“Calibration, instrumentation and metrology is a basic need for energy resources because it is closely related to data validity,” energy think-thank ReforMiner Institute executive director Pri Agung Rakhmanto said.

Indonesia is currently working on a number of power plant projects to realize electric generating capacity of 35,000 MW by 2025. In the megaproject, the government is looking to enlarge the proportion of renewable energy to 23 percent from the current level of 11 percent. — JP