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Renewable energy illuminates Lombok communities
Sun power: An array of community based solar power cells are found in Tangga hamlet, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara
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Sun power: An array of community based solar power cells are found in Tangga hamlet, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
With lighting, people in the most rural Indonesian settings no longer have to live in the dark.
The time is 9 p.m. in Teres Genit, a hamlet in North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). Nestled high among the foothills of Mount Rinjani, a nighttime stroll through the traditional farming community reveals a myriad of sights and sounds.
Lights hoisted atop thin metal poles dot the humble main street; a silhouetted figure steps out of a doorway; a glow emanates from the heart of the mosque.
Meanwhile, above the age-old sonic mélange of frogs, crickets and grunts of resting cattle, one overhears laughter from families huddled around a small TV, and the refrain of dangdut classic “Bola” (Ball) wafting plaintively out of a crackly set of speakers.
In most rural Indonesian settings, these features are unremarkable. However, in Teres Genit, this scene would have been unprecedented just 10 years ago, when the hamlet, considered too remote for connection to the national electricity grid, lacked constant electricity supply.
In 2008, a remarkable solution presented itself when the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources oversaw the construction of a small-scale hydroelectric system (PLTMH).
The PLTMH is managed by locals and uses the force of water from a nearby stream to rotate a turbine connected to a generator, producing renewable energy for around 400 households.
This case of community-based renewable energy (CBRE) is one of only two successful hydropower projects in Lombok. The system’s sustainability is reinforced by the area’s unique tradition of community natural resource management.
Integrated with the surrounding rice field irrigation system, the PLTMH is located in a forested valley protected by local adat (customary) law, where agricultural machinery is forbidden and breaches result in sanctions, such as cattle, contributing to annual appreciation ceremonies, including offerings to the stream.
“Under state law many mountains are already deforested, already exhausted. Many forests near springs are felled by people, but not our people. We don’t care [even] if they’re the president […],” explained local PLTMH management committee chairman Riyadi.
“In any case, we are forbidden to deforest. If the trees are felled, there will be drought everywhere, the fields cannot be plowed, and the water cannot be drunk anymore. If we leave it, it will not be taken care of by other people. If this dies, no one will manage, no one will take care of it.”
Another successful government CBRE project in North Lombok is an array of 51 solar panels (PLTS), providing electricity to 60 families in Dusun Tangga hamlet since 2014.
“It’s very rare we feel that it does not run constantly and well,” said hamlet head and PLTS management committee chairman Luji Hartono.
However, any problems that the community operators are unable to fix necessitate calling a technician from Bandung in West Java.
“When there is damage to components that must be fixed, that’s a challenge. We don’t understand. [The community head operator] has a few capabilities, but we don’t have special mechanical knowledge,” Hartono explained.
Research into CBRE in Indonesia and elsewhere concludes that the crucial challenge is a lack of training provided to local community members so that the technology can be locally maintained and repaired.
Dwi Kusnanto, PLN’s West Nusa Tenggara region general manager, acknowledged that building the capacity of community members for CBRE is “a necessity” and identified the main challenge of capacity building for CBRE as limited local human resources in terms of engineering know-how.
Machinery: The interior of the small-scale hydroelectric system features a turbine that drives renewable energy generation.
Development aid group MCA-Indonesia has channeled US$2 million into Peka Sinergi, a Lombok-based program to train and certify students in renewable energy technology. The vision is to create a new generation of local CBRE technicians and professionals.
According to Mataram University’s deputy rector and Peka Sinergi Consortium co-initiator, Suwardji, the main issue with CBRE in Lombok is a lack of government policy and initiatives.
He suggested using model cases like Dusun Tangga to demonstrate renewable energy’s benefits in rural areas to both the government and communities.
“Communities at the moment are very frustrated with many aspects of development […] They are able to run this thing, but we still need to be able to support them in terms of how they develop in other areas,” Suwardji said.
Ichsan from MCA-Indonesia, echoed, regarding general barriers to proliferation, that “renewable energy needs to be more guided by regulations and additional incentives from the Indonesian government”, particularly in creating cooperative institutions to manage system operation, including system developers, to ensure strong local ownership of CBRE systems.
Regulations for better-resourced maintenance training imply higher initial costs but a significantly higher likelihood of long-term CBRE system functionality throughout the diverse rural locations demanding electrification — a crucial factor, because effective governance in Indonesia’s energy sector is a long-standing challenge, and CBRE may be able to supply sustainable, non-fossil-based energy.
Dispersed energy generation has far-reaching potential benefits for offsetting environmental degradation, mitigating climate change and empowering people through self-managed electricity access. This will, however, require large-scale efforts beyond these pioneering cases, based on improved implementation.
In Teres Genit, CBRE’s most profound benefits are linked to electric lighting. Nighttime visibility has increased comfort for socializing, reduced the perceived risk of theft and supported the freedom of movement for women, who are traditionally not allowed outside after dark.
“At the end of the day, before sleeping, families always visit each other, chatting on their berugak [a raised platform with a thatched roof within the house compound],” Hartono said. “That was done in the dark before. Now there is lighting, so they’re more connected. Talking with family members is more comfortable, calm. There is no more fear.”
— Photos by Lawrence Lilley
