TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PT Kereta Api Indonesia or KAI installed solar panels at Gambir Station and the Jakarta Railway Center (JRC) building, with 40.5 kWp and 40 kWp capacities, respectively. The state-run railway company said that the use of solar panels can save electricity costs by 10%.

"For efficiency, we can reduce about 7-10 percent in terms of electricity expenses," KAI's director of strategic planning and business development Sandry Pasambuna said at Gambir Station, Monday, September 26, 2022.

At Gambir Station alone, the solar panels with 40.5 kWp capacity allow KAI to save electricity by up to 6.75 percent. Sandry said that 40.5 kWp of power can turn on 20 units of air conditioners with a capacity of 2PK each or 1,000 LED bulbs with a 40-watt capacity each.

The solar panels used at Gambir Station and JRC are an on-grid system that combines power supply from PLN's grid and the solar panel electricity network. In the future, KAI will increase the on-grid capacity and install more panels at the company's other assets.

"That way, we will be more efficient in our buildings' energy use and control, and we can expand the use of new renewable energy to all of KAI work areas," Sandry said.

The solar panel installation, he added, is also part of KAI's way to participate in supporting the government's program to welcome Indonesia's G20 Presidency, with regard to issues on prioritizing sustainable energy transition. This step is also in line with the government's policy to reduce greenhouse gasses towards net zero emission by 2060.

PT KAI invested Rp1 billion to install the solar panels at Gambir Station and JRC. "[The cost] was included in KAI's Corporate Budget Work Plan (RKAP) this year," he said.

MOH. KHORY ALFARIZI

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