JAKARTA - The Ministry of Cooperatives (Kemenkop) and PT Pertamina (Persero) through its subsidiary, PT Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (NRE) launched a pilot Solar Power Plant (PLTS) on Sembur Island in Galang Baru Village, Batam City, Saturday, December 20.
Minister of Cooperatives (Menkop), Ferry Juliantono, said the launch of a 100 GW (Gigawatt) capacity solar power plant pilot was a historic first step for the people of Sembur Island. The Sembur Island solar power plant is expected to be able to support the Galang Baru Kopdes business unit, which directly supports the production and processing of community fisheries.
"Since Indonesia became independent, the residents of Sembur Island have never enjoyed decent electricity. Today, our cooperative PLTS is starting to strengthen the productivity of catch and cultivation fishermen," said Ferry, Saturday, December 20.
This pilot, continued Ferry, is in line with President Prabowo Subianto's direction to strengthen the green economy, village independence, and the welfare of coastal communities through the active role of cooperatives.
"The energy from the Sembur Island PV plant will be used to support ice factories and cold storage, thereby reducing operating costs, maintaining the quality of catch results, and increasing the added value of fishery products," he said.
Ferry said that not only partnering with Pertamina, the Ministry of Home Affairs also partnered with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and various related institutions, such as the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, to provide reliable renewable energy solutions in these villages.
"With the support of funds from the Rolling Fund Management Institution (LPDB), the development of renewable energy in 5,000 villages will continue to be accelerated together with Pertamina," he said.
Ferry emphasized that the PLTS in the Sembur Laut Islands was used as a pilot model that was hoped to be replicated in other remote areas in Indonesia.
With reliable energy, this collaboration is expected to encourage business development and improve the welfare of rural communities.
Pertamina President Director Simon Aloysius Mantiri said that the collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs was also aimed at encouraging the economic independence of rural communities, especially those dependent on the fisheries sector.
"With the available electricity, it is expected that village cooperatives can develop cold storage facilities and ice production to increase the added value of fish catch products," said Simon.
As part of the program, direct assistance is provided to 200 heads of households (KK), of which about 90 percent are fishermen. With the cold storage and ice-making machine that can last more than 8 hours
He said that with the electricity generated, the operational time of electricity at home can last 12 to 24 hours, much longer than the use of a generator (diesel) which is only able to supply electricity for 6 hours.
"The cost of electricity from this solar power plant is also much more efficient, only about a third of the price that has been paid for diesel use. This will certainly ease the burden on people's spending," he said.
This program prioritizes villages that have not been connected to electricity, with a target of 10,000 villages out of a total of 80,000 remote villages in Indonesia that still do not have access to electricity.
"In addition, the selected villages also have economic activities that are running, so that electricity can support the development of the local economy," he explained.
Meanwhile, Pertamina President Commissioner, Mochamad Iriawan, appreciated Pertamina's steps with the Ministry of Home Affairs in supporting the development of the Red and White Kopdes by providing electricity through the construction of
"There are still 5 thousand points that will be built by Pertamina. I ask for prayers that this can be implemented," he said.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
