A workshop entitled “the potential of renewable energy in Indonesia” that was held in Bogor Indonesia enhanced cooperation on renewable energy between Indonesia and Finland.
The aim of the workshop was to bring together the different actors in the renewable energy field and to introduce a new energy and environment partnership programme, which will be launched in Indonesia during 2009. There were more than one hundred participants in the workshop representing governmental offices and research institutes,
NGO:s, universities and private companies. The workshop was organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia and the Indonesian Renewable Energy Society (METI).
The workshop worked as a kind of kick-off for the new environment and energy
Jatropha plantation in Western Javapartnership programme in Indonesia, which is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The ministry has been running a similar programme in Central America and encouraged by the good experience the programme is now replicated in Indonesia. The core idea behind the partnership programme is to implement the projects as a cooperation activity between private and public sector actors. The aim of the partnership programme is to support projects that focus on saving energy, increasing energy efficiency and harnessing renewable forms of energy.
Small-scale hydro plant in Western JavaEven a small scale energy project can have a significant influence on people’s lives in the rural communities and villages. Hence, the focus of the projects in Indonesia will be outside of the densely populated Java, in the rural provinces where most of the households are still without electricity. Electricity enables the using of light, refrigerator and even a stove, which makes everyday life easier and increases standard of living. Starting a small business is easier and the business becomes more effective for example when the picked fruits can be stored in cold store and then distributed with larger volume.
Otto Garcia from Guatemala presented succesful partnership programmes from Central AmericaRepresentatives of the Embassy of Finland in Jakarta and of the cooperation partners opened the event. Presentations of renewable energy and energy efficiency programmes in Finland and Indonesia followed, after which the attention was turned to strategies on adapting renewable energy in Indonesia.
There were also fascinating presentations on the potential of small-scale hydro technology and wind technology for energy production in Indonesia. Wärtsilä and Pöyry were representing Finnish companies and gave presentations concerning their activities in the renewable energy field. A representative of Finpro introduced the “Cleantech” – brand, which represents Finnish high-tech know-how in the field of environmental technology.
The workshop climaxed on the second day, which was dedicated on presenting the environment and energy partnership programme in Central America showcasing the most successful projects in the region. The last session of the event was devoted on discussion on the potential and possibilities of the partnership in Indonesia.
The partnership programme was given a warm reception among the workshop participants and cooperation partners. The presentations created vivid discussions in the seminar room and also during the “networking breaks”. A lot of interest among different stake holders was raised and the beginning of the programme seems very promising. The next step of the environment and energy partnership programme will be taken in the beginning of the year 2009.
