Electricity Still Uses Coal, Observers Say Electric Vehicles Are Not Completely Clean For The Environment: They Should Be From Micro Hydro Generators

JAKARTA - Transportation observer Darmaningtyas revealed that one of the challenges in implementing the electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia is an energy source that still uses dirty energy, namely coal.

"Electric fuel, which is 63 percent from coal, also makes this electric vehicle (EV) not completely clean to the environment, only a diversion or delay of pollution, considering that coal also produces waste," said Darmaningtyas, quoted by Antara, Sunday, August 14.

The chairman of the Institute for Transportation Studies (Instran) revealed that his party fully supports the electric vehicle ecosystem in the country if the raw material for electricity is sourced from new and renewable energy (EBT), for example from micro-hydro power plants.

In addition, according to him, the price of electric vehicles is still relatively high for the wider community to reach.

"If they are economically profitable, then automatically they will switch to EV. However, if they have not switched, it means that they are not yet attractive or profitable, both as an EV producer and as a consumer," he said.

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) also conveyed a number of challenges in electric vehicles, one of which was the preparation of qualified human resources (HR) in the electric-based automotive sector.

Head of KNKT Soerjanto Tjahjono revealed that human resources are needed who are able to contribute to the prevention of accidents and findings that can pose potential dangers in the future.

"We must always be prepared for changes or dynamics, whether regulations, technology, materials or new systems, which are currently still developing, both research results or new cases that affect safety, reliability, economy and others," said Soerjanto.

He explained a number of potential hazards that need to be watched out for, for example areas of high DC voltage (600 volts) which can be fatal, opening or cracking (cracked in high voltage cable insulators) caused by, among others, fretting (friction), sharp radius, aging (aging). ), and peeled off.

Then, the occurrence of short circuits due to vehicle vibrations, collisions or other things, tropical environments that tend to be humid, hot, dusty so that they can interfere with electronic functions.

He emphasized that battery-based electric vehicles (battery electric vehicles) for road transportation must be ensured that they meet the safety, security, and health aspects.

"Only trained personnel are recommended to handle the situation. The emergency response team must always be on standby while electric vehicles are operating so that evaluations are always carried out, especially regarding hazards, difficulties, as well as mitigation and improvement of existing SOPs," he said.

Regarding the fulfillment of clean energy for electric vehicles, Soerjanto added, there must be someone who calculates the total energy and carbon from when coal is mined with heavy equipment to generate electricity so that it can be used as evaluation material.

"All of that must be calculated and recorded. We will report on Indonesia's carbon status after using EVs. This is also an important part of implementing EVs," he said.