Why Solar Energy as a Priority in Indonesia
By: Tisya Nasywa (11.3 Sciencepreneur)
Indonesia is known as a rich country in its natural resources. But we are also known as one of the biggest consumers of fossil fuel. Despite knowing the side effects of fossil fuels, the government still insists on using fossil fuel as our main source of energy. Even though with the existent of abundant sun, we still have not tried on making solar energy a priority in the country.
This is mainly caused by the expensive installation cost of solar panels as well as the lack of education about energy crises that would happen over time if we keep exploiting non-renewable energy. Not only that, but the fact that we are still a developing country also hinders us from actually using solar energy. As it is now not a main priority for the government if we compare it to other emergencies such as poverty, famine, and corruption. Another reason behind the usage of fossil fuels over solar energy is because it's cheap and simple. We all like things that are cheap and easy. Especially with the country's condition, this leaves the government with fewer problems to deal with.
Not to mention, the lack of education in most parts of Indonesia. This leads them to be ignorant of problems like this. Some even deny the existence of global warming. And with the lack of knowledge like this, problems of energy crisis often go silent in society and easily avoided by the government. Thus making it seem like alternating to new renewable energy, not a priority.
Some things we can do to increase the awareness around energy crisis and making solar energy a priority is by educating the society about it. It would be hard, but worth the struggle. By doing so, people would be more aware and can put pressure on the government. Because now, the society is aware of this big occurring problem and it won't slide away again. For instance, the Kamanggi Village in Sumba, NTT. Since the electric current cannot reach them and provide them with electricity, they tried using solar panels and biogas as their source of energy. The fact that a small village could do this, proves to us that we are capable of switching to solar energy as long as the will is there.
They understand the limitations of non-renewable energy and how solar energy can give them a lot of benefits. It's abundant, cheap in the long run, does not need a lot of maintenance, and environmentally friendly. We can learn from them and start applying it parts of Indonesia where the sun thrives most.
With all the advantages of using solar energy, the high cost of installation won't be a problem. It will be a part of investment towards our future. Of course, we can start slow by making solar panel farms in parts of Indonesia where the sun thrives most and has a big space of land. Like NTB, NTT, Papua, and Kalimantan. From there, we can make more solar panel farm. Of course, this is not an easy job, it will take years to fully convert. But the effort we put in will be worth it. We can also take other forms of renewable energy into our hands. Like wind energy or tidal energy. Seeing as how many hills and ocean space we have. This might only be an illusion to most people but I believe that someday we will be able to convert to renewable energy.