Lighting up Papua’s Hinterland with Renewable Energy

MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

PRESS RELEASE

NUMBER: 434.Pers/04/SJI/2021

Date: 6 December 2021

Lighting up Papua's Hinterland with Renewable Energy

The nights in Coisi Village in Minyambouw District, Arfak Mountains Regency, West Papua Province, are now different from previous nights. The nights that used to be pitch-black are now bright, thanks to the arrival of APDAL (Power Distribution Equipment) in residents' homes and SPEL (Power Charging Station) which uses sunlight as energy source.

The Coisi Village is one of 37 villages in Papua and West Papua Provinces that receives APDAL and SPEL under a project run by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR), in this case, Directorate General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (NREEC) in cooperation with state electricity company PT PLN (Persero).

The project aims to light up villages that previously had no electricity access. There are 12,586 APDAL units to be distributed in Papua and West Papua Provinces, with 94 units are given out to the residents of Coisi and Bima Villages. Additionally, there will be 3 SPEL stations installed for the two villages.

"In mid-2020, President Joko Widodo instructed the Ministry of EMR and PLN to electrify 433 villages that did not have electricity access, with 102 villages, including the Coisi Village, are located in West Papua Province. To electrify these villages, we expanded the electricity networks, built solar power systems and other renewables power plants, and install SPEL and APDAL," said Director General of NREEC, Dadan Kusdiana, at the "Launching and Dissemination of SPEL and APDAL Program" that was centralized in Coisi Village on Monday (6/11).

Dadan went on to explain that an APDAL package consisted of two parts, namely, APDAL and IRAS. APDAL is a type of battery that stores electrical energy with a capacity of 500 Wh. An APDAL unit is connected to IRAS (Direct-Current House Installation). IRAS consists of 3 LED lights and 1 MCB, while an APDAL also has an outlet that can be used to power electronic equipment such as fans or LED TVs.

To charge an APDAL unit, PLN built SPEL units which are also equipped with street lighting.

The APDAL package is provided by the government for free and is not for sale. "For this reason, we hope that the APDAL units will be serviced and maintained so that they can be used for a long time," Dadan requested.

"To manage APDAL and SPEL, we have assigned 2 youths whom we call "Energy Patriots" to accompany you until next year. They will inventory new, renewable energies that are ready to be developed in this area," continued Dadan.

On this occasion, Regent of Arfak Mountains, Yosias Saroy, expressed his gratitude to the national government. "I'd like to thank the national government. Previously, some of our villages were already dark at six in the afternoon, there was no activity. But now, activities can be done at night because we have light," Yosias said.

Before the arrival of APDAL and SPEL, the residents of Coisi and Bima Villages had light from kerosene torches and diesel/gasoline generators. The fuels are sold between Rp140,000 and Rp200,000.

Meanwhile, PLN's Executive Vice President for Planning and Control of Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, and Nusa Tenggara, Erman Priyono Wasito Adi, said that PLN would map the potential of energy sources, especially new and renewable energy, in Papua and West Papua, especially in areas that are hard to reach. This way, villages without access to electricity will eventually enjoy electricity.

An APDAL package comes with a full five-year warranty. Residents can have their APDAL units checked and repaired at a service center, which will be established by business entities determined by the national government to supply APDAL. For West Papua, there will be two service centers to serve 1,415 APDAL units distributed in 2021-2022. These centers are located in Manokwari and Sorong. (IY)

Head of Bureau of Communication, Public Information Services, and Cooperation

Agung Pribadi (08112213555)

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