Future of National Energy (Indonesia)

In Jakarta Post today (30/4/09), there is this interesting article with a title "future of national energy". What's the future of Indonesia's energy sector? is it oil? is it coal? What is it? My expectation when first looking at the title were a near realistic model of future (I'd say in the next 25 years) energy mix and logical explanation on why Indonesia should go for it. But it seems the article did not answer my expectation. First, there is no time frame mentioned in the article to indicate how far is "future". Is it in 50 years? is it in 20 years? or is it in 5 years from now? There is one line stating "within the next five to 10 years" but that statement is not clearly defining "future". It is just indicating a waiting time if government is doing something. Second, there is no model and the third there is little explanation (and it is only targeted to government only) on why we should change and go for a certain energy usage pattern.

The writer discussed lightly about fuel subsidy that hampers the development of alternative energy. One example given was the slow development of geothermal. Fuel subsidy was blamed for that slow development. I found this a bit absurd. Fuel subsidy is given for oil based fuel that is mainly used for transport and domestic needs. Industry and power generation do not pay the subsidized price. Geothermal energy is so far only useful for electric power. Geothermal competes head to head with coal (that is certainly not subsidized) or hydro. Gas power plants or oil fired power plants are using non subsidized fuel. Geothermal does not compete with fuel for cars or for cooking stove. It is true that if the subsidy lifted and the money goes to the development of alternative fuel, then alternative energy will get a boost, but blaming it all to the fuel subsidy is not 100% true.

To compete with domestic fossil based fuel, bio energy or other alternative energy should be developed more. The use of hydrogen (brown energy) has been tried by many automotive enthusiasts. It is proved to be fuel saving. The use of this technology is surely reducing fossil based fuel consumption. The government should move quicker and set standard for this technology especially concerning safety. With strong standard enforcement, the product will be safe and in good quality.

Bio fuel is also a big issue. How to compete with food? How to regulate the market? Government still learning and they are learning very slow. The bio fuel association has made many complaints about incomplete government regulations. Standard is there, but market regulation is not completely available. The strong willingness to change habit by creating a strong policy is not there with the government. For example the bio fuels of pertamina only contain max 5% bio component (either Ethanol or CPO, check this link) and this type of fuel is not available in any fuel station. This means the largest customer of bio fuel (Pertamina) is not obliged strongly to provide more bio fuel to all areas. If pertamina is obliged, I believe the boost of bio fuel industry is coming.

Anyway, lifting the subsidy I agree 100%. I am convinced that lifting subsidy should push people to be more efficient in using fuel and further boost better public transport system. Money for the subsidy can go to better public transport system and development of alternative energy (research or improvement of investment climate).

I believe bio fuel and hydrogen is the future Energy of Indonesia. This is considering potentially high domestic fuel demand especially in rural areas where canned gas cannot reach the places. Solar can also play role if the price can go down and lifestyle to be green is booming. Do not forget nuclear. Electric power should leave coal untouched and leave the forest be green and biodiversity develops. Nuclear for electric power is for sure in the future. At the end fossil fuel era will end. People have to change and government should start the change. Make proper policy and regulation. Support the appropriate side of the market mechanism and think clearer. Leave alone energy sector and do not mix it with politics.

Micro Hydro Terminologies - Second Batch

Same sources plus some sources that I already forgot.

Classification

• High Head System: A hydroelectric power plant having head higher than 300 meters
• Low Head System: A hydroelectric power plant having head up to 30 meters
• Medium Head System: A hydroelectric power plant having head up to 300 meters
• Micro Hydropower: A hydroelectric power generation up to 100 kW
• Mini Hydropower: A hydroelectric power generation up to 1000 kW
• Off Grid: A hydroelectric power plant that does not operate in interconnected mode
• On Grid: A hydroelectric power plant that operates in interconnected mode
• Pico Hydropower: A hydroelectric power generation under 5 kW
• Run of River: A hydroelectric power station which uses the river flow as it occurs, the filling period of its own reservoir by the cumulative water flows being practically
  
• Small Hydropower: A hydroelectric power generation up to 10 MW

Site Identification

• Catchment area: An extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean
• Discharge (flow): Volume of water that passes a given point within a given period of time.
• Flood: An overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land
• Flow duration curve: A plot that shows the percentage of time that flow in a stream is likely to equal or exceed some specified value of interest
• Gauging station: A particular site on a stream, canal, lake, or reservoir where systematic observations of hydrologic data are obtained.
• Head: The difference in number of feet between two water surface elevations. Height of water above a specified point.
• Slope: The slope is defined as the ratio of the altitude change to the horizontal distance between any two points on the line
• Topography: Physical shape of the ground surface in a geographic area.

Planning

• Bill of Quantity: a document itemizing the materials, parts, and labor (and their costs) required to construct, maintain, or repair a structure or device
• Cost estimate: Approximation of the probable total cost of a product, program, or project, computed on the basis of available information
• Load Forecast: An estimate of the expected load of a network at a given future date
• Design flow: Is the flow at which the turbine operates at highest energy conversion efficiency
• Plant Gradient: Ratio between length of overall water conveyance system and head
• Energy Unit Cost: The cost to generate per unit of energy. Usually has cost/kWh unit (e.g. x US$/kWh)
• Feasibility Study: An exercise that involves documenting each of the potential solutions to a particular business problem or opportunity.
• Financial Analysis: an assessment of the viability, stability and profitability of a business, sub-business or project.
• Payback Period: the period of time required for the return on an investment to "repay" the sum of the original investment
• Internal Rate of Return: The interest rate received for an investment consisting of payments and income that occur at regular periods
• Net Present Value: the total present value (PV) of a time series of cash flows
• Discount rate: An interest rate a central bank charges depository institutions that borrow reserves from it. Discount rate is always compared to IRR to value an investment

Micro Hydro Terminologies - First Batch

I have been trying to find and collect some important terminologies of micro hydro power. The sources of the definitions are Wikipedia, International Electrotechnical Commission, Manitoba Hydro and some coming from internal sources. The list is not covering all detail technical terms (e.g. detail definition of a generator or a turbine). The list will only covers very general that newbies will find it easy to understand more about micro hydro power. The first batch will contain only terminologies that I categorized into "general".

• AC Alternating Current: An electrical system fed by alternating voltage
• Benefit-cost ratio: The ratio of the present value of project benefits to the present value of the project costs, used in economic analysis.
• Bidding: An offer (often competitive) of setting a price one is willing to pay for something
  
• Black start facility: Internal facility to restore a power station to operation without relying on external energy sources
• Community participation: Involvement of people in a community in projects to solve their own problems
• Contour line: In cartography, a contour line (often just called a "contour") joins points of equal elevation (height) above a given level, such as mean sea level
• Earthing system: An arrangement of connections and devices necessary to earth equipment or a system separately or jointly
• Efficiency: Energy conversion efficiency is the ratio between the useful output of an energy conversion machine and the input, in energy terms
• Feed in tariff: An incentive structure to encourage the adoption of renewable energy through government legislation. The regional or national electricity utilities are obligated to buy renewable electricity (electricity generated from renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic, wind power, biomass, hydropower and geothermal power) at above market rates set by the government
• Frequency: Frequency is the rate or number of times a bar magnet rotates a full 360 degrees inside a coil, during one second. Most people just say 60 cycles, and the "each second" is understood. AC current is generated at 60 cycles in North America and 50 cycles in most of the rest of the world. The term 60 cycles is usually shortened even further and referred to as 60 Hertz. Utilities accurately control AC power production to this 60-Hertz value, since it is the basis of operation for many devices, especially clocks
  
• Hydroelectric installation: An ordered arrangement of civil engineering structures, machinery and plant designed chiefly to convert the gravitational potential energy of water into electricity
  
• Hydroelectric plant: A power plant that produces electricity from the power of rushing water turning turbine-generators.
• Hydroelectric power station: A power station in which the gravitational energy of water is converted into electricity
• Hydroelectric set: A generating set consisting of a hydraulic turbine mechanically connected to an electrical generator
• Hydrologic cycle: The natural recycling process powered by the sun that causes water to evaporate into the atmosphere, condense and return to earth as precipitation.
• Interconnected operation: The operation of two or more networks interconnected by links (for example: lines, transformers, d.c. links) enabling the mutual exchange of electrical energy
  
• Kilowatt (kW): An electrical unit of work or power equal to 1000 Watts
• Kilowatt-Hour (kWh): Basic unit of electric energy equal to one kilowatt of power applied over one hour. A unit energy equivalent to one thousand watthours
• Megawatt (MW): One million watts of electrical power
• Megawatt-hour (MWh): One million watt-hours of electrical energy
• Neutral: The designation of any conductor, terminal or any element connected to the neutral point of a poly phase system
• Nominal voltage of a system: A suitable approximate value of voltage used to designate or identify a system
• Phase: The designation of any conductor, bundle of conductors, terminal, winding or any other element of a polyphase system, which is intended to be energized under normal use
  
• Power factor (cos phi): The ratio of the real power flowing to the load to the apparent power, and is a number between 0 and 1 (frequently expressed as a percentage, e.g. 0.5 pf = 50% pf). The power factor is equal to cos phi)
  
• Power purchase agreement: A legal contract between an electricity generator (commonly a utility company) and a host site owner or lessor. The host site owner or lessor purchases energy or capacity (power or ancillary services) from the PPA Provider (the electricity generator)