Solar energy developed for urban houses
Solar energy developed for urban houses
JAKARTA (JP): The Agency for the Assessment and Application of
Technology is expanding its solar energy development plan,
currently restricted to rural areas, to include urban housing.
To begin with, Bumi Serpong Daya, an expanding exclusive
satellite city on the outskirts of Jakarta, has agreed to be the
first to use solar power.
The huge housing complex in Tangerang has agreed to build a
model house with solar cell panels in place of regular roof
tiles.
Besides the current trial project on rural housing in some
areas, commercial solar-powered generators are available in
Indonesia, albeit in a limited way because of their relatively
high costs. At present, they are chiefly installed on bungalows
which wealthy urban people own in resort areas and use only on
weekends.
Agus Salim Dasuki, the agency's director of energy technology,
said solar energy here is being developed to complement rather
than replace current energy sources.
"We must be prepared in case of an electricity crisis," Agus
said.
He recalled the time only a few years ago when many cities in
Indonesia, including Jakarta, had power blackouts because PLN,
the state-owned electricity monopoly, could not generate enough
electricity to meet the rapidly growing demand.
PLN even restricted the maximum electricity supply a household
was entitled to 2,200 watts then, he said. "That should never
have to happen again."
"We also want to introduce an environmentally friendly, less
wasteful source of energy," Agus said of the project for solar
energy.
Solar power, which is light converted into electrical energy
through an array of solar cells, was one of the topics discussed
at the World Energy Congress in Tokyo last week.
An editorial in The Economist magazine before the congress
argued that Asian governments, including Indonesia, should not be
tempted into building nuclear plants, and should encourage the
development of cheaper, safer alternatives such as solar and wind
power. Except for France, the editorial stressed that western
governments now consider nuclear power too expensive.
Agus said that solar power cannot yet be considered a better
alternative for energy on a large scale, as it is still costly at
US$8 to $10 per watt.
The ideal cost would be $1.50, he said.
"Our priority is still to develop solar power as a complement
to other resources, mainly in rural areas which will still be
without access to electricity in the next five to 10 years," he
said.
More than 60 percent of Indonesian households, mostly outside
Java, still have no access to electricity. They represent about
23 million of Indonesia's 195 million population.
A project to develop 50 megawatts of solar energy by the
Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology aims at
helping at least one million homes, said Agus.
Each home will have 50 watts, enough for "basic needs," a
television and a few lights.
Up to now, only 30,000 homes in 15 provinces have solar
energy. These families, said Agus, pay a monthly rent of Rp 7,500
($3.29) for 10 years, which includes Rp 500 in maintenance fees
managed by the local village cooperative. After 10 years the
solar panels will be owned by the families, who only need to
change the cells and other components.
Agus admitted that the project, assisted by Presidential
funds, is limited to selected villages where the residents are
considered able to pay the rent.
Agus said hopefully the costs will decrease, partially with
technological advances. French scientists say they have found
solar cell panels which can last for 40 years, instead of the
current ones which last for 20 years, he said.
Another scientist, Achyar Umi at the Center of Applied Physics
at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in Serpong, West Java,
said scientists there are also developing local components of
solar cells, which are still imported.
Solar energy, developed more intensively here since the 1980s,
is now used for various functions including home use, medicine
storage and water supply. (anr)