Life in the village of Laindeha on the island of Sumba, Indonesia, used to grind to a halt at sunset. However, everything transformed three years ago with the introduction of electricity. Contact online >>
Life in the village of Laindeha on the island of Sumba, Indonesia, used to grind to a halt at sunset. However, everything transformed three years ago with the introduction of electricity.
Previously, darkness typically marked the end of the day for residents who lacked access to noisy, polluting generators fueled by dirty energy sources. Some resorted to powering lightbulbs with car batteries or using oil lamps, which posed fire hazards.
Community improvement initiatives have now equipped residents of Laindeha and other remote villages across the country with individual off-grid solar panel systems, addressing needs often overlooked by those with reliable access to electricity. Increased lighting translates to more time for work, study, and social interaction.
Tamar Ana Jawa, a weaver and mother of two living in Laindeha, said, "It used to be dark at night, now it's bright until morning. So tonight, I work... to pay for the children."
A 17-year-old student from the east Sumba village of Ndapaymi, Antonius Pekambani, said, "I couldn't really study at night before. But now I can."
Indonesia has brought electricity to millions of people in past few years, going from 85% to nearly 97% coverage between 2005 and 2020, according to World Bank. But there are still over half a million people living in places the grid doesn’t reach.
While solar power remains uncommon in Indonesia due to restrictions preventing people from offsetting costs by selling surplus energy back to the grid, Sumba Sustainable Solutions has played a crucial role in addressing the challenge.
The donations it receives are used to subsidize home solar systems, enabling customers to make monthly payments equivalent to USD3.50 over a period of three years. Additionally, the company has distributed solar-powered wireless lamps and mills to thousands of homes on the island, offering villagers convenience and efficiency previously unavailable to them.
There have been a few obstacles hindering the transition. The off-grid systems can only power smaller devices such as phones and lightbulbs, and repairing them can be challenging, especially since some parts are difficult to attain.
Projections from the International Energy Agency estimated that as the end of 2023, approximately 760 million people worldwide were lived without electricity, with large proportion of them residing in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
That emphasize the significance of companies like Sumba Sustainable Solutions in Indonesia and Global OTEC, which is bringing renewable energy to the African country of São Tomé and Príncipe.
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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The use of solar photovoltaics, or solar panels that convert sunlight to electricity, is growing rapidly around the world as it becomes more affordable.
In Indonesia, the cost of solar panel systems has fallen by 90% to around US$900 to US$1,200 per kWp (kilowatt-peak).
Indonesia must seize this opportunity and prioritise the deployment of solar power systems in its most remote and least developed regions. Research shows this approach could significantly boost livelihood and economic activities in those areas.
Indonesia''s solar power capacity has grown 250% in the past five years. From 43.1 megawatts (MW) in 2016, capacity reached 153.5MW in 2020. The government plans to increase this capacity 14-fold to 2.14 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
On the other hand, in 2020, five Indonesian provinces had an electrification ratio of less than 95%, namely Central Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, and East Nusa Tenggara.
The government must consider that solar power generation is not only a vital means to accelerate the energy transition to renewable energy. It is also a way to ensure access to electricity in all regions – including remote and underdeveloped regions, and communities in Indonesia''s outermost areas.
Since 2017, for instance, energy-saving solar-powered lamps (LTSHEs) have been distributed to these areas to improve the national electrification ratio.
However, these LTSHEs provide only limited lighting for up to 6-8 hours a day.
Electrification shouldn''t just be about making lighting available. It means ensuring communities can use electricity reliably for a range of productive activities, including education and agriculture.
Indonesia has a solar irradiance intensity – the amount of energy that a certain area can potentially receive from sunlight – that varies from 3.6kWh to 6kWh per square metre per day.
The ample sunlight makes solar energy generation suitable for regions that are off-grid, or where connecting into the electricity grid is expensive and impractical. Unlike urban areas with access to electricity, solar panels could make a huge difference for communities in remote and disadvantaged areas.
In countries such as Nepal and India, off-grid electrification through the use of solar panels has even accelerated decarbonisation by reducing kerosene use. They have also improved education for children and boosted incomes in many communities.
There are, however, several challenges in providing solar electricity in remote regions.
For starters, an off-grid solar power system requires more advanced technology than on-grid systems. Off-grid systems need different types of batteries to store energy. They also need inverters to convert the electricity from those batteries for use in home appliances.
These additional requirements double or triple the cost of an off-grid system, which can be unattractive for investors.
These batteries and technologies also require maintenance, monitoring, evaluation and eventually replacement, which could be a challenge for local communities.
There are several options to overcome such problems.
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