Palembang, 26 February 2024 – Energy is a basic need for individuals and communities with various purposes. Even though energy is something crucial in human life, not many people know or are critical of the energy sources (such as electricity) that they use every day.
On a larger scale such as the industrial sector, energy needs will be directly proportional to the productivity and economic contribution of the products produced. Somewhat different from energy use on a household scale, energy use in the industrial sector is relatively well monitored. In terms of awareness of energy sources, industry tends to better understand the energy sources they choose.
In an effort to promote the use of renewable energy, the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) collaborates with the South Sumatra Province Energy and Mineral Resources Office to organize the South Sumatra Energy Exploration (Jelajah Energi Sumatera Selatan) activity for one week starting from Monday, February 26th, 2024 to Friday March 1st, 2024. This activity also embraces journalists as strategic partners in increasing public literacy regarding the energy transition.
The series of events began with an introductory workshop to provide participants with a basic understanding of energy and the energy landscape of South Sumatra, which acts as an “energy barn”. However, the dominant energy used is fossil energy i.e coal. Meanwhile, apart from fossil energy sources, South Sumatra Province also has a technical potential for renewable energy reaching 21,032 MW, yet only around 4.7% or 989 MW has been utilized.
Rizqi M. Prasetyo, IESR Sub-National Project Coordinator, explained that with the renewable energy potential of South Sumatra, projects can be utilized to bring benefits to the community.
“One of the (good practices, ed) that has been carried out in South Sumatra is the CSR initiative to use solar PV to drive land irrigation water pumps,” said Risky.
Secretary of the South Sumatra Province ESDM Service, Ahmad Gufran, said that his party was open to various ideas for greater use of renewable energy.
“We will continue to contribute to the development of the renewable energy sector to obtain clean, environmentally friendly energy. In the future, we hope that the use of clean energy can expand to all levels of society,” said Ahmad Gufan.
After receiving a general introductory workshop, the Energy Exploration journey began by visiting PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja (PUSRI). PT PUSRI is the first fertilizer producer in Indonesia and has been operating since the 1970s. Considering that the company’s operational period is quite long, production assets have also entered a period of revitalization. This moment is also used to switch to a cleaner type of technology for future operational periods.
VP of Environment at PUSRI Palembang, Yusuf Riza, explained that in an effort to be in line with the government’s agenda to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, PT PUSRI is taking a number of steps, including implementing energy efficiency practices, using electric vehicles as operational vehicles in factory environments, and installing on-grid rooftop PV for office operations.
“Currently we have installed a rooftop PV of 110 kWp as an energy source in office buildings, and this year (2024, ed) we plan to increase our (PV) capacity by 100 kWp. So in total we will have around 210 kWp PV capacity,” said Yusuf.
