Jakarta, 26 April 2022- The Ministry of Health through The Directorate of Health Service Facilities, Directorate General of Health Services has issued Guidelines for Environmentally Friendly Hospitals (Green Hospitals) in Indonesia in 2018. Central Java has a high potential power output for solar energy. To that end, the development of policies, benefits, and financing schemes for rooftop solar power plants available for health facilities are discussed in the “Rooftop Solar Energy for Health Facilities Sector” Webinar. This activity was held in collaboration with the MEMR of Central Java Province and IESR which took place online.
Opening the discussion, Mustaba Ari Suryoko, Coordinator of Various NRE Services and Business Supervision, Directorate General of EBTKE, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources stated that Indonesia has at least 3 targets, namely 23% renewable energy in 2025, emission reduction in 2030, and net zero emission in 2060. According to him, The target for penetration of renewable energy, especially rooftop solar power plants, which is 3.6 GW until 2025 is quite high, but its implementation is still minimal.
Several efforts have been made by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to accelerate the use of solar energy, especially in the health sector, including the issuance of the Rooftop pv Regulation to accelerate the penetration of rooftop PV, increased socialization to the health sector, such as the construction of rooftop PV at the Bali Mandara Hospital 2020, with a capacity of 100 kWp. Ari informed that currently, around 15 hospitals in Indonesia have installed rooftop solar panels.
“Low carbon development has become a global agreement, and we are part of it. The health sector has a fairly large energy demand, and there are units that have to operate 24 hours a day. For that, energy efficiency is needed, not only saving, but also producing and using energy effectively and efficiently,” said Sujarwanto Dwiatmoko, Head of MEMR of Central Java Province.
Sujarwanto said that energy audits, replacement of energy-efficient lighting systems, as well as non-stop and stop electrical operation line separation needs to be done in the hospital. To support the green hospital, hospitals can use renewable energy, one of them is rooftop solar power. According to Sujarwanto, to optimize the use of rooftop PV, it is necessary to look at the electricity usage needs, such as what tools operate during the day or night and determine which PV system (offgrid/ongrid) will be used. Supporting the energy transition, MEMR of Central Java Province will issue special awards for energy saving and green building efforts.
Adding, Romadona, Head of the Health Facilities Facilities Team Referrals from the Directorate of Health Service Facilities said that the principles of environmentally friendly hospitals include safe buildings and guarantee patient safety, paying attention to various patient conditions (such as disabled), adapting to medical science developments, saving energy and being environmentally friendly. Romadona explained that the environmentally friendly criteria themselves are divided into two types, namely design and construction, as well as operational criteria. Unfortunately, the application of the criteria was interrupted during the pandemic.
On the other hand, Marlistya Citraningrum, Sustainable Energy Access Program Manager, IESR mentioned several advantages of solar energy such as its abundant potential and rooftop PV technology that is easily accessible, does not require land, is easy to maintain, and the size can be adjusted to the size of the house, legally on-grid and off-grid. Marlistya said that the average return on investment for rooftop solar power plants in Indonesia for small scale is 10-12 years.
“Roof PV can last for 25-30 years, and after that it can still be used but with a slightly decreased power,” he said.
Marlistya explained that there are several rooftop PV financing schemes such as cash purchase, installments/credit, and performance-based renting. Marlistya informed that at the Semarang City Hall, the use of Rooftop Solar Power Plants was able to reduce the bill by almost 50% from Rp 13 million to Rp 6.5 million. On the other hand, for a small house, the savings can reach 60%.
The savings in electricity costs of Rp 810 million/year, as well as very easy and minimal PV maintenance is one of the testimonials for the use of 327.6 kWp rooftop PV at Pertamina Hospital Cilacap. Muhidi, Household Sector, Pertamina Cilacap Hospital, said that the installation of rooftop PV in his hospital is an effort of efficiency and savings as well as a form of support for the government to achieve a 23% energy mix by 2025.
Also supporting the development of PV mini-grid in Indonesia, UNDP is working on the Sustainable Energy Fund (SEF) with a total incentive of rooftop PV of Rp 23 billion.
“The scheme is performance based; install it first before submitting an incentive request,” explained Verania Andria, UNDP’s Senior Advisor for Sustainable Energy.
Verania explained that the requirements for submitting incentives, namely PLN customers who have installed or are currently installing rooftop PV as of December 1, 2021, can only submit one application, does not apply to PV funded by the government through the APBN/APBD, and installation is not done alone because UNDP wants to guarantee quality. installation of installed roof PV mini-grid. In addition, capital applications can be accessed through the application and the online site https://isurya.mtre3.id. Furthermore, she stated that so far, incentives of Rp. 155 million have been distributed.
Ing. Eko Supriyanto, General Chair of the Indonesian Hospital Engineering Association who was present on the same occasion informed that green healthcare consists of various aspects; One of them is energy conservation and emission reduction. He said that digitizing hospitals was important to overcome several issues in hospitals such as building architecture, waste treatment methods, the use of energy that is not environmentally friendly, and the over-use of electrical energy. One example of digitization, explained Eko, is the Smart Integrated Electricity System, a digital system that can monitor planning and energy use in hospitals.
“The hospital is still looking at the economic side of installing rooftop solar panels. Hospitals also have service priorities that prioritize patients and health services, so the decision to use rooftop solar panels requires comprehensive consideration. With the technology and cost of rooftop PV, now is the time for hospitals to start considering installing rooftop PV” said Eko.
