Assisting with Solar Power Systems Development, 23 Energy Patriots Inaugurated

MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

PRESS RELEASE

NUMBER: 345.Pers/04/SJI/2021

Date: 26 September 2021

Assisting with Solar Power Systems Development, 23 Energy Patriots Inaugurated

Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR), Dadan Kusdiana, inaugurated 23 Energy Patriots in an online ceremony on Thursday (24/9). They will act as facilitators in 23 villages where communal solar power systems will be built under the ACCESS Program.

In his welcome remarks, Dadan said the Energy Patriots were expected to help communities manage the energy sources existing in their areas on their own and identify the energy sources that could be used by the locals at a competitive price and by simple management so that people who lived in remote areas could generate energy by themselves.

"The Energy Patriots are also expected to trigger changes, especially the changes needed by 0.8 percent of our fellow citizens who have not yet enjoyed electricity, those who live in 433 villages which are still dark at night and in another 3,100 villages which use energy-saving solar-powered lamps," Dadan added.

Under the ACCESS Program, the Energy Patriots will be put on an 18-month assignment to guide the communities in villages in East Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, and Central Kalimantan in the development of clean and sustainable electricity services from solar energy. Their duties include guiding the communities during the construction of solar power systems, assisting in the handover of the solar power system asset from the Ministry of EMR to the village administration; facilitating the selection, training, and certification of local operators, forming the village electricity management units, and supporting the mapping of village economy potential.

Out of 140 applicants, a total of 23 Energy Patriots were selected, consisting of 16 males and 7 females, all of whom hold a bachelor degree from various educational background. All Energy Patriots have been working for over three years, some even have more than ten year experience in community assistance.

Meanwhile, Acting Director of Various New Energy and Renewable Energy, Hendra Iswahyudi, said the 23 Energy Patriots had participated in online training from September 6th to September 14th, 2021, and in-person training between September 20th and September 24th, 2021. The training materials include the code of ethics for empowerment, gender and social inclusion approaches, participatory approach, introduction to solar power systems and solar PV infrastructure, operation and management of communal solar power systems, establishment of Village-Owned Business Enterprises and Village Electricity Management Units as well as assistance with the techniques to identify village economy and prepare sustainability analysis.

The ACCESS Energy Patriot is part of a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Indonesia and the Ministry of EMR, which is funded by the grants from Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) through a project called the ACCESS (Accelerating Clean Energy to Reduce Inequality). The ACCESS project will build 23 communal solar power systems with a total capacity of 1.2 megawatts (MW) in 23 villages in East Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, and Central Kalimantan.

"The ACCESS project is one of the most ambitious approaches in clean energy development because the support is provided in the forms of not only power generation infrastructure but also training and certification for the locals as the operators as well as the development of local units that manage electricity services," said Sophie Kemkhadze, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Indonesia.

According to Sophie, the Energy Patriots will play a key role because they will guide and assist the local communities during the preparation and implementation processes, and later document the activities to be used as the learning material for similar projects. The ACCESS project is expected to create electricity access to at least 20,000 people in Indonesia and Timor-Leste as well as water access to 3,500 people in Timor-Leste. Women account for a minimum of 30% of the project's direct recipients. (IY)

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