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Should I install solar panels at home?
Businesses and individuals are beginning to embrace photovoltaic systems, not least thanks to new rules passed this year.
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Clean energy: A farmer removes dust from a solar panel installed in his field in the Karanganyar subdistrict of Indramayu, West Java, in November 2020. The solar cells generate power for lighting and a water pump. (Antara/Dedhez Anggara)
Amid an unprecedented expansion in the renewable energy sector, some businesses and individuals have shifted to solar power systems.
Miftah Yama Fauzan has installed a row of photovoltaic (PV) panels of 1,000-watt peak (Wp) capacity on his roof. The on-grid system requires no batteries and cost him Rp 12 million (US$834).
“The main purpose of the solar panels [installed] on my house is for studies and education,” Miftah told The Jakarta Post on Jan. 26. He added that the 20 to 30 percent cut in the price of electricity he pays was not to be sniffed at.
Agung Kayon has offered PV planning and installation services in Bali since 2015, after gaining experience from installing an off-grid system on his own house back in 1995.
Feeding his interest in experimenting with electronics, he has tweaked the system over the years at a cost of approximately Rp 15 million.
“An off-grid system doesn’t require electricity from PLN at all,” he said, adding that his rooftop solar panel system had a capacity of around 700 Wp for daily household activities.
Indonesia aims to become carbon neutral by 2060 or sooner, but it has made little use of its solar energy resources so far. Despite year-round sunshine, the tropical archipelago ranks last for solar power generation capacity among the G20 countries.
