INDONESIAN WAVE ENERGY POWER PLANT
It’s common knowledge that Indonesia is known as a maritime country. Having numerous beautiful and potential oceans makes Indonesia one of the countries that rely on its marine life as a source of life. Indeed, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, assured that the ocean could be the future for the Indonesian state.
As we know, so far, the utilization of marine potential has only been limited to marine transportation, oil, and fisheries activities. However, did you know that the ocean can even be a source of electric power? The application of this electric power is called the Wave Power Plant (PLTG). Waves can be a source of electricity because principally a wave is a moving mass of seawater. From the moving water, kinetic energy occurs which can drive a turbine or generator that we commonly know to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy. Even the electrical energy that comes from waves can produce more power than the power generated from wind power plants. Several countries in the world have succeeded in building wave power plants such as France, South Korea, the United States, and others. In Indonesia itself, the idea of using ocean waves as a source of electricity was initiated several years ago and in 2017, Indonesia finally collaborated with Netherlands to start a trial of using ocean waves as a source of electricity in the NTT area, precisely in East Flores Regency. According to the latest information, the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has looked at the Pantar Strait of NTT for the development of PLTG. Then, can this Wave Power Plant be carried out in all regions in Indonesia?.
Based on the generator source used, PLTG of course can only be applied to areas that have oceans, but not all of them can support PLTG. There are certain eligibility and safety standards regarding what kind of ocean waves can be used as power plants and the ocean with waves that are always formed throughout the year with a minimum height of one to two meters and waves that meet these high criteria. The condition for a good wave is a wave that doesn’t break due to siltation.
Seeing the huge potential of this PLTG, of course, Indonesia must be careful in conducting exploration on wave power plants to produce an efficient source of electricity without destroying the marine ecosystem.
