Hydro energy: not so sexy yet still reliable

Rangga D Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 10/17/2011

Austria-based hydro energy developer Andritz Hydro suggested that the government, businesspeople and energy consumers in Indonesia pay more attention to the future development of hydro energy sources.

Company president director Josef M. Ulmer said Monday that the country had abundant hydro energy potential, around 78,000 megawatts (MW), but as of today utilization still stood at only around 4,500 MW.

“Hydro is the old lady of renewable energy. It’s not as sexy as solar energy, but it is one of the most reliable sources of energy, including in Indonesia,” he told reporters at a press conference on the sidelines of the World Renewable Energy Congress in Nusa Dua, Bali.

With a current electrification ratio of about 70 percent, hydro energy could be one of the best options for providing access to electricity in certain regions of the country, he said, adding that the future of hydro energy was very encouraging.

As reported earlier, the government and state electricity utility PLN were preparing the concept for the third phase of the 10,000 MW fast-track program. During this phase, most new power plants would use water for generating electricity.

Companies, households use Malang dam as garbage dump

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 10/17/2011

Negligence and a lack of supervision has led Sengguruh dam in the East Java town of Malang to be used as a waste disposal site for household garbage and industrial waste, state water firm Perum Jasa Tirta says.

“Besides the industrial waste from the hundreds of companies, there has been a huge volume of household waste — about 20 to 30 cubic meters a day during the dry season, and up to 80 cubic meters a day during the rainy season,” Jasa Tirta spokesman Tri Hardjono said in Malang on Monday as quoted by Antara.

Tri added that the waste not only contaminated the water in the dam, but also made it shallower, obliging local authorities to dredge the dam every year as the local power plant relies on it for water.

PLN to pay more to renewable energy producers

Rangga D. Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Thu, 10/13/2011

The government, state electricity firm PT PLN and businesspeople have agreed to increase fees paid for power produced from biomass, biogas and city waste.

The government hopes this breakthrough can make investment in the sector more appealing, the new, renewable energy and energy conservation director general at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Kardaya Warnika, said Thursday.

According to a 2009 ministerial decree on electricity rates, PLN is obliged to buy power produced from biomass, biogas and city waste (connected to the medium voltage) at Rp 656 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in Java and Bali, Rp 787 per kWh in Sumatra and Sulawesi, Rp 853 per kWh in Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara and Rp 984 kWh in Maluku and Papua.

For electricity connected to the low-voltage grid, the prices are Rp 1,004 per kWh in Java and Bali, Rp 1,205 per kWh in Sumatra and Sulawesi, Rp 1,305 per kWh in Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara and Rp 1,506 in Maluku and Papua.

Under the new agreement, in Java and Bali, PLN will pay Rp 945 per kWh for power produced from biomass and biogas, Rp 1,050 per kWh for power produced from city waste using zero-waste technology and Rp 850 per kWh for power generated using landfill.

In Kalimantan, Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara PLN will now pay  Rp 1,170, Rp 1,260 and Rp 1,020 per kWh. Meanwhile, in Maluku and Papua, PLN has agreed to pay Rp 1,267.5, Rp 1,365 and Rp 1,105 per kWh.

“The price change will be included into the revision of the 2009 ministerial decree on electricity rates,” Kardaya said during a discussion at his office in Jakarta.

Jakarta to build 13 artificial lakes in 2012

The Jakarta Post, Thu, 10/06/2011

Apart from completing the construction of the East Flood Canal, Jakarta Administration has announced plans to build 13 artificial lakes in efforts to cope with annual flooding in the capital.

“We are still in the land acquisition process, and the construction work will be carried out in stages,” Jakarta Public Works Agency natural resources management chief Fakhrurrazi said Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that the lakes, the construction of which is expected to begin in 2012, would be built in several locations including Jagakarsa, Bintaro, Lebak Bulus and Marunda.

Fakhrurrazi said the agency would also propose a budget for policing and dredging the lakes, in addition to building lanes around them to prevent citizens to from building houses on their banks.