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Alternative, environmentally friendly energy sources promoted to electrify schools
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In partnership: Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendi (center) inaugurates a solar power plant and a solar energy laboratory in state senior high school SMA Negeri 8 Malang, East Java, on Jan. 30. (JP/Aman Rochman)
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ducation and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendi has called for more support from companies, through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, to help electrify schools in areas across Indonesia.
He said around 90,000 schools across the country did not yet have access to electricity, hampering the students' activities.
“They are located in regions difficult to reach by government-backed electrification programs,” said Muhadjir. Existing gaps in the education sector between areas in Indonesia were caused by, among other things, poor access to electricity.
The minister was speaking during the inauguration of a solar power plant and a solar energy laboratory in state senior high school SMA Negeri 8 Malang, East Java, on Tuesday.
The solar power plant, which has a capacity of 15,360 kilowatts peak (kWp), and the solar energy lab were built under a collaboration between the government and a CSR program developed by energy firm PT Paiton Energy to fulfill the needs of alternative power plants in schools across Indonesia.
Several other companies are also involved in the trial project of the solar power plant through their CSR programs.
“A solar power plant with such a capacity will be able to cover 50 percent of the electricity needs of schools in accessible areas like Malang. But for schools located in remote areas where the government could not provide electricity, we would need Rp 1.5 billion [US$105,000] per school to install a power plant with a capacity of 15,000 kWp,” Muhadjir said.
“It is also a platform for students to learn about renewable energy,” Paiton Energy chief financial officer Syakib Bafakih said. (nmn/ebf)
