A research team from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has established an international collaboration with the University of Colorado Boulder, Penn State, Virginia Tech, the Makassar City Government, and Bandung Institute of Technology to form the Center for Development of Sustainable Regions (CDSR) consortium.
This initiative focuses on utilizing renewable energy in Makassar, South Sulawesi, aiming to enhance community welfare and reduce carbon emissions.
In this carbon emission reduction effort, the photovoltaic systems installed by the CDSR team are designed to support various community initiatives, such as fisheries and clean water supply.
“What we do can empower the community to install, operate, and maintain these systems. Meanwhile, the government is also beginning to implement online monitoring for energy reduction and carbon emissions,” said Dr. Rachmawan Budiarto, a UGM Department of Nuclear Engineering and Physics lecturer, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2024.
The researcher from the UGM Center for Energy Studies (PSE UGM) mentioned that the CDSR team visited Makassar to evaluate the integration of sustainable technology into the daily lives of the community and government.
He noted that over the past four years, this international collaboration team has conducted surveys and analyses to develop further the Green Alley program initiated by the Makassar City Government.
Additionally, planning and implementation of renewable energy technologies for various community-based activities have been carried out.
“This team also empowers the community to operate and maintain existing systems through technology internalization,” he explained.
Regarding development, Dr. Budiarto stated that the leading technology implemented for renewable energy includes solar power plants for agriculture and fisheries and water supply pumping systems.
“For accurate monitoring of energy usage, we have an online energy monitoring system that allows real-time monitoring of energy consumption and carbon emission reductions,” he clarified.
Furthermore, he indicated that this development is expected to have several impacts, ranging from economic aspects to energy independence on welfare.
“In terms of economic impact, there will be savings in electricity costs, which can increase business profits or support business development. For instance, if there are power disruptions, this can also provide additional security for electricity supply,” he noted.
Dozens of locations in Makassar have been selected for technology development.
Numerous green alleys were analyzed in the first three years, and in the last year, three community-based fisheries and water supply business locations were chosen.
Dr. Donny Koerniawan, a lecturer at the School of Architecture, Planning, and Policy Development at Bandung Institute of Technology, explained that this international collaboration team focuses on reducing carbon usage, exemplified through behavioral changes starting from city alleys, which serve as small spaces within the city.
“We have implemented solar panel installations at three sites, which can significantly reduce energy consumption in each community,” he explained.
He mentioned that these solar panel installations began about two months ago, but the impacts are already evident within the communities.
Dr. Koerniawan also emphasized that their goal is to achieve a net zero carbon community for Makassar.
Additionally, data generated through the online energy monitoring system provides real-time information on electricity from solar power plants and predictions of preventable carbon emissions.
This data and analysis will serve as a basis for further technology development collaborations.
“This data can also inform better decision-making towards a sustainable community,” he added.
Through this international collaboration, technology developers are working to implement renewable energy and energy monitoring technologies to build a net-zero carbon community in Makassar.
This initiative demonstrates that sustainable development and community welfare enhancement can continue and inspires other development teams to pursue similar efforts in other regions.
Author: Lintang
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang