Indonesia’s energy consumption is rising by the year, burning through our energy reserves and power needed to fulfill demands for the country. Yes, we’re burning finite and very much limited energy (in the long run). Non-renewable. This might not seem much to you, or me. “It won’t affect me”. The thought of it seems so far, and by the time it should really affect you your already in a deep slumber 6 feet below dead soil. Unfortunately, unless you decided to be a heavy smoker it will affect you if this event repeats each year. But hey, not everything’s doom and gloom. Obviously, there’s renewable energy. But should we really change over to renewable energy? On paper, yes obviously. But there’s effects and disadvantages that we need to talk about, to get a clear to the dot answer. So here we are. Let’s get the facts out First. Lets talk about our primary energy, non-renewable resources Obviously, You can’t “recycle” them. Once you used them, its pretty much gone. As stated, this is our primary source of energy. More than 85% is non-renewable. What are those non-renewable energy you might ask? Fossil fuel. And Fossil Fuel, AND also Fossil fuel. Coal, Petroleum, natural gases. Indonesia’s the largest coal exporter by weight, reaching 544 metric ton, and second in value ($14,547,621,000). Until 2004, Indonesia was also an oil exporter. With that much coal, you might think that we’re well off for a very long time. We have enough coal for 14 years. Oil? 11 years. Natural gas is the only one that reached more than 20. 40 years. The demand for these has also risen. Since the 1990’s to 2008, This demand has doubled. With Demand, comes spending’s. Indonesia Spends A LOT of money on fossil fuel subsidies. Around 10% of government spending’s. 10%. Alright, that’s enough with the ludicrous numbers, although im not done talking about the disadvantages. You’ve heard em, you’ve seen them, you’ve felt them. The pollution. Coal is a bad offender of this. Your probably tired of this. Oh no, there’s more. Lets just blitz through these. Declining oil & gas production, Inefficient energy usage, Geopolitical problems. So lets do a recap. Indonesia is using a resource that can’t be renewed, gives a lot of pollution, takes a ton of money from our hands, its depleting, its inefficient, and the production is declining. No, your not allowed to say anything yet. Let me finish my explanation before you state the obvious. With all of these negative impacts, its pretty much a wrap for the answer. Yes. With the increase of demands because of population growth, having an alternative energy source that is both sustainable and much more environmentally friendly is a must for future generations. Renewable resources. Its everywhere. Solar energy from the sun, Wind energy from you-know-what, geothermal energy from the heat underneath, biomass (material made from plants and animals), and hydropower energy (moving water). Using renewable energy lowers the need of using non-renewable energy, while not polluting at all (low to the point of you not feeling any change). The need to purchase oil and coal is also lessened. Freeing a dozen or three billions in fuel spending can be very beneficial for other aspects, Like education and nice roads with silent jackhammers. The biggest worry about changing to renewable energy is if it can power the whole country. Well, our current power station has 59 MW capacity (rounded up), while the planned capacity is 35+7.5 MW in capacity (rounded up). Might seem like its going to be a disaster, but it really isn’t. It might not be 100%, but this can suffice for it to be a primary energy source. Yeah, I said “planned”. Because Indonesia already planned on converting to renewable energy. Although currently about 13% in the usage of renewable energy, Its planned to be much more by a decade or two. 23% in 2025, and 31% by 2050. Also, Because of its properties being renewable, the price is stable. So yeah, even less spending. Woohoo. Of course, it doesn’t come with its disadvantages. Moving the facilities needed to properly start producing renewable energy, at the end will produce pollution. This is mass scale here we’re talking about. And as from the numbers I talked about just now, Renewable energy by itself is not large enough to cover the whole demand of our energy needs. Its not super-efficient, because of how new it is. It’ll take some time to be able to squeeze this to its maximum efficiency. Moreover, The price of it (Panels and such) is still expensive. So, to be able to spend less money, you need to spend more money. And the fear of the investment not even reaching its expected value, is what scares a lot of countries away from it, especially ones that is already salvaging their storage for any energy. Added to that, space. You need a LOT of space. The need for space does not fit well with the population growth of Indonesia. But hey, at least now we don’t need to buy canned air from Switzerland. All in all, Renewable energy is something Indonesia already considered, and is now trying to convert to it. Do I think it’s a good idea, removing all other factors that I haven’t learned yet? Yes. But from what I’ve seen now, I find it hard that they’ll really manage that 23% by 2025 goal. It might take a bit more time, but im confident. Better than nothing I guess. In the start, I really thought this was a no brainer idea, of course we should! Now? No.
Just kidding, I still think Indonesia should convert to renewable energy. I hope my grand-grand children will be able to feel the effects of Renewable energy, if it truly worked for us. That would be awesome, as now they have more time to visit my grave and put artificial flowers on my dirt. Goodbye.
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