Energy Ministry Secures Cooperation on Energy Transition
MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES
PRESS RELEASE
NUMBER: 084.Pers/04/SJI/2021
Date: 8 March 2021
Energy Ministry Secures Cooperation on Energy Transition
The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR) and Timor-Leste Ministry of State Administration work together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide electricity and clean water access through a project called ACCESS (Accelerating Clean Energy Access to Reduce Inequality).
The US$18 million-worth project is funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and will provide electricity and clean water powered by solar energy to 20,000 people who live in remote villages in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
"We warmly welcome the cooperation which is funded by KOICA. Through the ACCESS project, the number of electrified villages will increase; this is in line with the target of renewable energy accounting for 23% of national energy mix by 2025", said Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation of Ministry of EMR, Dadan Kusdiana, in Jakarta on Monday (8/3).
KOICA Indonesia's Country Director, Jeong Hoe Jin, said KOICA is ready for the ACCESS partnership and is committed to ensuring access to clean energy and to solve the issue of energy imbalance. Under the framework of South-South and Triangular Cooperation between Indonesia and Timor-Leste, the governments of the two countries, KOICA, and UNDP will enhance cooperation with clear common goals so that the ACCESS project can make meaningful progress.
Similarly, UNDP Indonesia's Representative Chief, Norimasa Shimomura, said that every person in Indonesia must have a reliable access to electricity. However, with climate change occuring, electricity generation must also lower CO2 emission rate, that is, by making transition to cleaner, efficient, and renewable energy sources.
"We truly appreciate the partnership with Ministry of EMR and KOICA in providing the supply of much needed clean electricity to people living in small islands in Indonesia, especially to communities that currently use electricity from non-sustainable diesel generators", he said.
In Indonesia, ACCESS will be carried out at 23 villages in four provinces, namely West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, and Central Kalimantan. It will build off-grid solar power plants with a total capacity of 1.2 Mega Watt. In Timor-Leste, the project will be carried out at 25 villages at Dili City (Atauro Island), Manatuto, and Bobonaro. It will install about 1,000 energy-saving solar street lights and 10 solar-powered water pumps.
Energy Patriot Program
Ministry of EMR will also run an Energy Patriot Program in cooperation with the People's Business and Economic Initiative (IBEKA) which is led by Tri Mumpuni. The program aims to realize bright and just Indonesia by using renewable energy. It was first launched in 2015 and will rerun in 2021.
About 100 young men and women from across Indonesia will be selected to join development and empowerment programs in 3T (foremost, outermost, underdeveloped) regions. They will be assigned in villages in Kalimantan and Papua islands to act as field facilitators in preparing natural resources maps and local resources potential maps as the basis to formulate renewable development programs. They will also act as catalysts in creating active economic activities that support the use of renewable energy and people's productive businesses.
The selection process will be carried out between April and May 2021. Engineering graduates can apply for the program, where they will be trained for two months (June-July 2021). They will then be assigned for twelve months to map the renewable energy potential in their assigned villages. The patriots will be given survival training, mindfulness practice, technical skills, community-based development, live-in experience and implementation. (IY)
Head of Bureau of Communication, Public Information Services, and Cooperation
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