Jokowi: Indonesia Has 4,400 Rivers For Power Plants

NUSA Dua - President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia has more than 4,400 rivers spread from Sabang to Merauke and has the potential to be used as a hydroelectric power plant.

"Regarding hydro potential, Indonesia has more than 4,400 potential rivers and 128 of them are large rivers, such as the Mamberamo River in Papua which has a potential of 24,000 megawatts, the Kayan River has a potential of 13,000 megawatts. This in North Kalimantan, which will later be used as a source of electricity for Green Industrial Park in Kalimantan," Jokowi said when opening the 2023 World Hydropower Congress at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC), Badung, reported by Antara, Tuesday, October 31.

President Jokowi said the thousands of rivers are great potential that can be utilized for the future of the earth and the next generation of Indonesia.

However, said Jokowi, Indonesia also faces various challenges, one of which is related to the location of hydropower sources whose positions are far from the center of electricity needs.

Facing these problems, the Indonesian government has made a blueprint for accelerating transmission routes that connect electricity from the location of the center of economic growth and industrial growth centers, so that the value of their benefits becomes higher.

"In addition, another challenge is funding and technology transfer, where this requires a lot of investment and requires collaboration with all the power of the hydro ecosystem in the world," he said.

The President hopes that WorldHydroppower Congress can become a collaborative forum that produces policy recommendations and increases investment for the use of water energy for a sustainable green economy.

This is important, given the many changes and natural phenomena that have occurred recently.

"Our motherland is sick. The UN says that currently it is no longer global warming, but has entered the global pooling," he said.

Jokowi explained that the increase in the earth's temperature if left more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is predicted to cause 210 million people to experience water shortages, 14 percent of the population will be exposed to heat waves and 297 million houses will be submerged by coastal flooding, and 600 million people will experience malnutrition due to crop failure.

This phenomenon is a real threat to all groups in various parts of the world who need collaborative work.

The President said Indonesia is fully committed to accelerating the energy transition through the addition of new and renewable energy on a large scale because Indonesia is rich in green energy potential.

"Based on the estimated calculation, it is estimated that it reaches 3,600 gigawatts from both the sun, wind, from geothermal, from ocean currents from waves, from bioenergy and hydropower," he said.