From July 18 to 21, Ahmad Agus Setiawan, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D., UGM’s Faculty of Engineering lecturer, receives the opportunity to attend the Workshop AIC Energy Cluster at Australian National University and Monash University. Carrying the theme Indonesian Renewable Energy Related Issues, the program presents the research results from previous phase, as well as planning further research collaborations.
Besides Agus, there are two other delegates from Indonesia, Dr. Retno Gumilang Dewi from Bandung Institute of Technology, and Dr. Ulfah Juniarti Siregar from Bogor Agricultural University as the focal point with research collaborators. Meanwhile, Helen Fletcher-Kennedy also presents as Chief Operating Officer from Australia-Indonesia Centre (AIC). As the host, there is Professor Ken Baldwin as Director of the ANU Energy Change Institute and ANU Public Policy Fellow.
The program started with a visit and discussion with Dr. Nathan Steggel, a renewable energy expert at Windlab. On this occasion, Steggel reported the progress of Australia for reaching the target of 20% Renewable Energy mix this year. “That is earlier than the initial target in 2020”, he stated.
Next, it continued with a visit and discussion at the laboratory of Solar Thermal Group at ANU. The topics were the latest innovation and their promising research achievements in supporting renewable energy.
In the workshop, Dr. Ahmad Agus Setiawan also presented the research project plan for the following year, titled Renewable Energy Development in Indonesia: Technology and Policy to Target Villages Electrification and Border Line with Neighboring ASEAN Countries.
He hoped that this science and technology-based discussion can inspire the Indonesian government in achieving the target of using renewable energy as much as 23% of total energy in 2025. “We can also learn from what Australia has done so far,” he concluded.