Tech Agency Claims Solar Energy Use on the Rise

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - M. Sarinanto, Chief of the Energy Conversion Technology Agency (B2TKE) of the Technology Research and Application Agency (BPPT) stated that the use of solar energy technology in Indonesia is currently on the rise.

"Until 2018, the utilization of solar energy through solar power plant was recorded at 94,2MWp. The electricity provision plan (RUPTL) of the State Electricity Company targeted the use of solar energy in Indonesia to reach 1,047 MW in 2025," Sarinanto said. 

Sarinanto asserted that the photovoltaic (PV) module test laboratory of the BPPT can be used as a reference by the government in implementing the Indonesia National Standard (SNI) mandatory policy for SNI 61215 for PV module.

"The laboratory can also be used as a national reference laboratory for solar panel industry, which will create positive impact in the improvement of the quality of domestic PV module, and to improve the efficiency of production cost," Sarinanto explained.

The SNI IEC 612152016 is an identical adoption of the IEC 612152016 international standard on terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) design qualification and type approval consisting of two testing phase

"The purpose of the testing is to determine the thermal and electricity characteristic of a solar module and to prove that the module can sustain prolonged exposure to the sun on open air," Sarinanto said.

According to Sarinanto, the reliability of a high-quality solar module will depend on its design, and environmental conditions.

"The test consists of 19 stages of module quality test, beginning with the visual inspection module qualification test, and ended with the final stabilization test," Sarinanto added.

MUHAMMAD KURNIANTO (CONTRIBUTOR)