AsianScientist (Jun. 29, 2015) – From China to Hawaii, over four continents and two oceans, pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg are flying a plane powered only by the sun. Solar Impulse 2’s ongoing feat is made possible by its razor-thin solar ‘skin’—a total of 17,248 solar cells, each the width of a human hair, covers the plane’s wings. The solar cells power lithium batteries, which in turn power four 17.4 horse-power motors, giving the plane a maximum speed of 143 kilometers per hour.
It’s potential range? Infinite.
The record-breaking project—albeit facing weather delays—was highlighted during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum for East Asia, a three-day senior-level forum that took place in Jakarta, Indonesia from April 19 to 21, 2015.
Moderated by Mr. Richard Ledgard, managing director of ABB Indonesia, the panel met to discuss how policy, technology and education could help to address the opportunities and challenges of energy in Asia.
Members of the panel were Dr. Ilham Habibie, CEO of Ilthabi Rekatama; Mr. Steven Groff, vice president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB); Mr. Agus Purnomo, director of Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART); Mr. Luluk Sumiarso, chairman of the Indonesian Institute of Clean Energy and Climate Change (IICECC); Mr. Heru Prasetyo, former head of the National REDD+ Agency; and Ms. Shinta Kamdani, CEO of Sintesa Group.
Setting the tone for the session, Groff noted that 1.5 billion people in the Asia-Pacific region do not have access to electricity, and instead rely on biomass and transitional fuels such as coal and kerosene.
At the same time, the region suffers from some of the worst impacts of climate change, including typhoons and rising sea levels, underscoring the need for governments to find ways to drive economic growth in a cleaner and greener fashion, he said.
Policies must champion renewable energy
In May 2015, Indonesian President Joko Widodo launched the 35,000 megawatt power plant program to achieve energy security for the populous Asian nation of 280 million people, where only 16 percent have secure access to electricity.
Renewable energy could play a significant role in generating these 35,000 megawatts of electricity and the private sector is eager to invest in it, said Kamdani, who is also vice-chairman and head of climate, energy and sustainability for the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. But policies to promote the inclusion of renewable sources are necessary, she said.
In addition, Groff mentioned how fuel subsidy reform in Indonesia was a step in the right direction. For a long time, the practice of fuel subsidies in Indonesia had sharply reduced the price of fuel, leading to rampant overuse and financial losses. Not only must measures be put in place to prevent the subsidies from being reintroduced when oil prices inevitably go up, incentives must also be created in a low oil price environment, when alternative energies look more expensive and less attractive, he said.
Sumiarso agreed, voicing his concern that policy reforms were necessary to promote the use of renewable energy. In Indonesia, hybrid car and home owners who use solar energy have to pay higher taxes instead of receiving subsidies, “because [solar energy] is treated as a luxury,” he said.
But simply diving headlong into renewable energy isn’t such a good idea either, Habibie said, citing Germany as a cautionary tale.
“Germany has gone fully into wind. The wind parks are an engineering marvel, and they cost a lot of money to the degree that if Germany is not cautious, it will lose its competitiveness.”
Let’s plant electricity instead
It is possible to achieve carbon neutrality by “planting electricity” instead, said Purnomo, who is also special assistant to President Widodo for climate change issues, and former executive director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia from 2004 to 2009.
“I want to plant the electricity, to produce less greenhouse gases. Let’s do more bio: bioeconomy, biodiesel,” he said.
In addition, palm oil businesses could be made more sustainable by only using land that is already degraded instead of primary forests, he said, citing a May 2015 logging moratorium extension that banned logging in primary forests and peatlands nationwide.
Besides the oil palm, alternative sources of biodiesel could include the jatropha plant, said Habibie. The seeds of jatropha, a flowering plant from the Euphorbiaceae family, contain approximately 30 percent of oil.
“Palm oil is not the only possible fuel we can grow,” said Habibie, describing how after a frenzy of interest, investors pulled out of jatropha plantations as they could not extract sufficient oil.
Habibie noted that in recent years, R&D into the jatropha plant has led to better oil-yielding varieties.
“It needs time. There is no such thing as an off-the-shelf solution. We need to focus on innovation and R&D.”
Changing mindsets, from governments to individuals
Groff proposed that governments invest in a newer energy grid.
“One thing that characterizes the grid across Asia is it is old and aged, leading to huge [energy] losses in some countries. In some countries you lose 30-40 percent just in an aging grid. Getting a smarter grid in place doesn’t cost very much, but these are challenges of immediate priority.”
Beyond technology advances, Habibie said there had to be a change in consumer behavior, such as the use of double-glass instead of single-glass windows in buildings for better insulation.
“Most windows are just single-glass, because double-glass is too expensive! In Indonesia we have a weakness, we don’t want to spend too much upfront. People must understand that you must invest upfront to save money later on, and that goes beyond energy.”
Concluding the discussion, Kamdani called for more action beyond symbolic events like the WWF Earth Hour.
“When WWF launched the earth hour—every year, one day, only one hour a year—did that help change the attitude of the people in general? We have to go back to basics. We have to educate our children from an early age.”
This article was first published in the print version of Asian Scientist Magazine, July 2015.
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Photo: Shutterstock.
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