During
the 20th century, the earth’s average temperature has increased
about one degree Fahrenheit, according to NASA. This may sound very trivial—why
a degree matters so much? Environmentally speaking, unfortunately, it signifies
a gradual change in climate. The hazard of global warming is now the current
environmental formidable issue confronted by our society. Ring et al. (2012)
stated that it is largely due to the greenhouse effect—a phenomenon in which
certain gases e.g. carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitroux oxide (NOx) are
accumulated in the atmosphere, hence blocking the heat radiation from the
earth. The emission of these gases is the result of human civilizations,
particularly the process of fossil fuels combustion (NRC, 2010). The vast use of
fossil fuels, including oil, natural gas, and petroleum as the primary energy
source dates back since the era of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th
century (Clark, 2007). Its versatility has yielded the society an opportunity
to an advanced improvement in numerous sectors: from industrial, electricity
generation to transportation. Today, however, the economic growth and
uncontrollable number of human population has forced the society to exploit
fossil fuels, including oil, natural gas, and petroleum, to meet the growing
energy demands; or in other words, our society is being heavily dependent on
fossil fuels. Fossil fuels, in fact, are non-renewable and unsustainable resources.
Besides taking its toll on the environment, fossil fuels, which were formed through
biological process of organic matters such as flora and fauna remains for more
than million years ago (Chmielewski, 1999), are limited. Even though it is hard
to precisely estimate the time length of fossil fuels to last due to various
aforementioned factors, Doherty (2012) predicted that in approximately 46
years, all the oil in the earth will have been completely used up. These
factors, combined with the rising price of increasing price of fossil fuels and
the fact that the world’s energy consumption is predicted to be 35% higher in
2035 (BP, 2015), have prompted many countries, including Indonesia, to mull
over the outlook for alternative energy resources. In Indonesia, various resources
of renewable energy such as geothermal, hydroelectric power, and solar energy,
solar power specifically, have been offered as the options. To date, only
geothermal and hydroelectric power systems have been carried out; while the
latter i.e. solar power has not been widely utilized, even though it is reckoned
to be equally potential. Therefore, in order to solve the problem of renewable
energy source and to prevent the climate change from worsening, the government
should promote and encourage the development of solar power in Indonesia.
Solar
power provides clean, environmental-friendly energy resources to the society by
harnessing the sunlight and transforming it into electricity. With about 885
million terawatt hours (TWh) reaching the surface of the earth every year,
which is 6200 times more than energy consumed by humans in 2008, it is believed
to be the most inexhaustible energy resource available (IEA,
2011; 2014b). In general, solar power is divided into two
systems: direct by using photovoltaics (PV), or indirect by using concentrated
solar power (CSP). CSP systems use mirrors or lenses to focus a large area of
sunlight into a small beam; in this regard, CSP is more suitable for wide areas
with higher temperature e.g. desserts (Philibert, 2005). Photovoltaics, meanwhile,
is best applied in urban and rural environments. It is built of solar cells which
connected together to form a solar panel to collect sunlight and convert it
into electricity. Although it was initiated for small-scale installations, it
is possible to generate enough electricity by grouping solar panels in arrays to
set up self-sustained farm or house. Installing
solar PV also contribute to less-polluted air as it does not emit CO2 and NOX.
Numerous studies have found out that fossil fuels contribute 40 percent of
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, 23 percent of the nation’s nitrogen oxide (NOX)
emissions, and 67 percent of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions in the atmosphere
(Grover, 2007). These emissions
contribute to the formation of smog and haze, and are associated with a wide
range of health problems; particularly respiratory problems e.g. heart attacks,
chronic lung, asthma, and pneumonia. Installing solar PV
may decrease the risk of suffering from these health problems (Grover, 2007).
Solar
PV creates an energy independency and alternative to the countries which apply
it. Palz (2013) explained that solar PV have been trending globally ever since
its first mass production in Germany due to its bright prospect. As of 2014, there
are more than 100 countries have employed solar PV as their alternative energy
source. China emerges as the top installer, followed by the powerhouses, Japan and
U.S., consecutively (IEA, 2014). International Energy Agency in 2014 also
reported that around 177
GW (gigawatt)
of now installed globally, 10
times higher than in 2008. Following the worldwide installations of
solar PV, 19 countries in the world are now capable to supply 1% of their
yearly demand of electricity with PV. Hunt (2015) also added that Germany is
now capable to supply about 7% of their domestic electricity demands, and about
1% from 18.400 TWh of global electricity demands. In the end of 2060, solar
energy could supply a third of global energy demand with low level of CO2 emission
(IEA, 2011). Indonesia, however, has just started its move to establish power solar
systems. In 2014, state-owned electricity firm, PLN has just established a plan
of adding 620 PV megawatts (MW) to the existing 42.77 MW by 2020, losing from
the country next door, Thailand, who now has reached 1 GW PV capacity (Global
Business Guide, 2014).
Entrenched in equator between Indian and Pacific Ocean,
Indonesia is blessed with year-round sunshine; it is basically a sleeping giant
of solar energy source. Nonetheless, as an archipelago, covering all areas with
electricity has long been the most challenging task for the government (Global
Business Guide Indonesia, 2013). According to the data from Ministry of Energy
and Mineral Resources of Republic of Indonesia in 2014, about 23.53% of
households in Indonesia are not yet electrified, and most of them are located
in remote areas. Our government has been relying on the fossil energy to
fulfill the electricity demands of 546 TWh; coal makes up around 40% of total,
followed by oil (29%), gas (21%), and renewables (10%) (Indonesia
Infrastructure Report, 2010). Meanwhile, based
on the data from APEC’s Peer Review on
Low Carbon Energy Policies in Indonesia, Indonesia’s fossil fuels reserves only
consist of 4 billion barrels of oil, 3 trillion cubic meters of
natural gas, and 5.5 billion tons of coal in 2011; and our domestic capability
to produce oil is very limited. Taken together with our reliance on fossil
energy reaching 94,97% and the average growth rate of energy consumption is 7%
per year (Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Republic of Indonesia,
2012), it is impossible to rely solely on fossil fuels. The National Energy Policy adopted by the House of
Representatives in January 2014, furthermore, predicted that renewable sources
shall supply at least 23% of Indonesia’s energy needs in 2025 and 31% by 2050,
up from around 6%. Therefore, considering the geographical location of Indonesia
and the dire need of renewable resources, solar panels may be the best option
to be carried out.
Some people claim that
solar PV system is too costly. The average cost for installing solar panels on a house in U.S. is around $10,000 or
around 130 million rupiah. The idea is no longer relevant. Bazilian et al., (2013)
stated that solar panels are very
durable; the panels systems can last for 25 to 50 years. The only cost required
is the installation cost; not to mention that the solar panels only need very
little maintenance. Moreover, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance
as of 2008, the global cost per watt of PV has fallen by 60%. To attract people to use solar panels in Indonesia,
however, the government needs to offer incentives, namely feed-in tariffs, in
order to encourage the PV industry to provide solar PV for commercial use. This
method offers cost-based compensation to renewable
energy producers, by providing price standard and long-term contracts that help
energy investments financially (Couture et al., 2010). If people use and
buy more panels, local PV manufacturers can increase production to meet demand,
the cost and price will drop over the years. Therefore,
instead of spending the money on fossil energy-related system, the development
of inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will be beneficial in the
long run (IEA, 2011).
Others also claim that solar PV will be useless at nights and
cloudy days. This opinion is not entirely true. Solar PV do work if they are
exposed to intense amount of sunlight, however, it does not necessarily mean
they would not work at night. Most solar PV have batteries installed within. During the day, battery banks store energy as the night energy back-up. In
Indonesia, for instance, streetlights with solar panels are common. Solar panels
absorb and save the solar energy throughout the day in order to be used to
light street lamps during the night. The same goes without saying to cloudy
days. It is true that solar PV
can work optimally with intense amount of sunlight; and that in cloudy days,
only a slight amount of sunlight can pass through the clouds to reach the solar
PV hence the efficiency of solar panels decreases; however, it does not mean
that it does not work at all. As a tropical country with lavish sunshine,
cloudy days do not really affect the performance of the solar PV.
All in all, solar PV, as a renewable energy resource, offer
many advantages than fossil fuel-based energy. It is inexhaustible, cleaner,
and environmental-friendly energy resource. It will increase countries’
dependence on greener resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, and
keep fossil fuel prices lower (IEA, 2011). Therefore, I strongly suggest that
the government encourage the state-owned electricity company (PLN) and local
manufacturers to promote this low-carbon energy system for a better Indonesia.
Annisa Lista Sari
Final Project
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