Sea Flow Energy Has Great Potential to be Developed in Indonesia

INDUSTRY.co.id - Larantuka - As an archipelagic country, Indonesia has an ideal topography for developing energy from ocean currents. The strait between the two islands generates considerable energy potential to be utilized as a new alternative energy-based alternative energy source.

This was conveyed by Director General of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), Rida Mulyana while accompanying the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Ignasius Jonan reviewed the location of the Sea Flow Power (PLTAL) development plan in Larantuka Strait, East Nusa Tenggara, Saturday (31/3/2018).

"As an archipelagic country, Indonesia has many narrow straits that indicate potential ocean currents to be developed such as those in the Larantuka Strait, which is said to be the strongest in the world and we still have many other straits that we still identify which worth to be developed," said Rida.

Marine energy technology in the international world has grown rapidly. The Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) has begun assessing these types of technologies for possible application in Indonesia, followed by assessments by the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Although Indonesia's marine area is three times bigger than land area, but the activity of sea energy utilization for power plant has not developed yet. Marine energy development frontier is already available in Law no. 30/2007 on Energy and Law no. 17/2007 on the National Long Term Development Plan (RPJPN).

In order to develop the energy of ocean currents, on November 9, 2017, the Indonesian delegation led by Rida Mulyana visited the ocean current energy development company, Naval Energies, in Cherbourg, France.

The ocean currents developed by Naval Energies have a simple turbine technology, which has only one part that uses sea water as a lubricant. With that technology, the cost of operation and maintenance is lower when compared to using propellers technology. Open hydro open center turbine technology which has a diameter of 16 meters and current velocity of 2-5 meters per second it can generate electricity of 2 MW.

PT Arus Indonesia Raya (AIR), a company that has cooperation with Naval Energies in developing the marine turbine industry, has been conducting studies in several Indonesian locations. There are several suitable areas for developing marine power plants (PLTAL). From the results of studies conducted at 10 location points, obtained the potential electricity that can be generated from the ocean currents of Indonesia.