Bedtime Stories About Energy

Few days ago, I was curious about the future of energy in Indonesia. I feel lost, and need someone trusted enough to be asked about this issue. Then I remember my lecturer in university Dr. Ir.  Moehammad Ali Jambak, M.T. (me and my colleagues used to help him finish his dissertation). At first, I was not sure if he will respond my question or not. Turns out he called me right away to answer my questions. I was surpised, busy person like him still wanted to answer my sudden questions. Also, the last I contacted him was in 2016 to say Eid Al-Fitr. Short story he explained a lot of things and I feel like I was in a classroom with him. I was deeply moved by his dedication to his student even to me who already graduated in several years ago.

Anyway, I was asking him about Indonesia's Energy Security. How is Indonesia's Energy Security today? Do we still focus on coal, oil and gas? Is it possible for Indonesia to change its main energy into renewable energy in the future? His answered basically similar with my opinion based on research and personal observation. Some points that need to be higlighted from his answers are

1. Indonesia's Energy Security is very fragile

2. Indonesian people are having low awareness about renewable energy (from citizen until politician who hold keys to make a policy about energy)

Why is our energy security so fragile? The first reason is because today, Indonesia is a net oil importer. We're no longer can export our production to other country. We used to be a member of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). Today, we are importing oil from other country. Sad? Yes. But I'm pretty happy about it. Why? Because it means Indonesia has a chance to expand and develop new energy resources other than the conventional one. Not only net oil importer, if we don't have an action, Indonesia could be a net gas importer as well. 

I read an article about "IS INDONESIA AT RISK OF BECOMING A NET GAS IMPORTER?" written by Satya Hangga Yudha W. P. co-founder of IE2I (Indonesia Energy and Environmental Institute). That article was written after IE2I held a first Indonesian Energy Conference at Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta on April 11, 2017.

“Indonesia is really at an inflection point as far as gas in concerned in today’s market. There are a lot of opportunities. If Indonesia plays well, there’s a lot of upside, but if you do not capture the opportunities, there’s a very high risk that we go down the same path as liquids, where we become a net importer.” said Vishal Agarwala partner at McKinsey & Company. 

I'm a bit surprised how precise my lecturer answer is with this article. Well, no need to be surprised though. My lecturer is the best on his field, I'm so grateful I asked him about it. Back to the topic, I'm happy there are talented young generations that have a great vision and mission to make Indonesia more eco-friendly. Satya and all of the panelist in the conference also believed that natural gas offers huge opportunities for Indonesia, and that solutions can be found.

However, it's been almost 10 years since Indonesia explores and develops renewable energy like geothermal but the result is not satisfying enough, said my lecturer. One of the main reason is the  low awareness about renewable energy in Indonesia. Well, for me I think It's not only about awareness, there are a lot of things to consider beyond that. It involves global politics and capitalism.

Do you ever think how is the market of oil & gas if renewable energy such as solar, geothermal, tidal, etc are rising? Stokeholders are worried. There are a lot of things stakeholders do to prevent renewable energy's rises. Based on EYES WIDE OPEN: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines book written by Paul Fleischman they will hire some lobbyist, run campaign, and etc to help them prevent the replacement of fossil fuel energy.

Overwhelming bedtime story? Yes, I feel overwhelmed too 😐 My dream about Indonesia that will use solar energy, tidal, and other renewable energy as the main energy source seems impossible and unclear, and I'm sure there will be a lot obstacles out there to make this dreams come true. But this will not stop me to learn more about environment and renewable energy.