PLTS
ETI offers various renewable energy solutions to support The Government of Indonesia to reach Mix Fuel Target by 2025 where 25% of the fuel used in Indonesia must be coming from renewable sources. Our specialty includes the development of mini-hydro power plants, solar power plants, biomass and biogas power plants. One of our subsidiary PT. RENERPHA ENERGI UTAMA build mini hydro Power Plant in West Java area. For more information please visit our subsidiary: www.renerpha.com
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PLTS history is inseparable from the invention of silicon-based solar cell technology in 1941. When it was Russell Ohl of Bell Laboratory observing polycrystalline silicon will form a built-in junction, because of the effects of segregation of impurities contained in the molten silicon. If the photon beam on one side of the junction, it will form a potential difference between the junction, where electrons can flow freely. Since then research to improve the efficiency of energy conversion of photons into electrical energy intensified. Various types of solar cells with a variety of materials and geometry configuration was successfully created.
Solar cell is a semiconductor diode that can convert light into electricity and is the main component in solar systems. Solar Cells image as Principal Component PLTS. In addition to the modules consisting of solar cells, other components in a solar power system is the Balance of System (BOS) in the form of inverters and controllers. PLTS often equipped with batteries as power storage, so PLTS can keep supplying electrical power when there is no sunlight. Electric energy generation in solar cells occurs by the photoelectric effect, also called photovoltaic effect, which occurs due to the effect of photons with particular wavelengths that if energy is greater than the threshold energy semiconductors, it will be absorbed by electrons so that the electrons move from the valence band (N ) to the conduction band (P) and leaving holes in the valence band, the next two payloads, namely electron-hole pairs, are raised. Electron-hole flow that occurs when the electrical load is connected to via a conductor would produce an electric current.
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Type of Solar Cells. Judging from the concept of the crystal structure of the material, there are three main types of solar cells, the solar cells based mono-kristalin, poly (multi) crystalline and amorphous. All three types have been developed with a wide variety of materials, for example silicon, CIGS, and CdTe. Based on the chronological development, solar cells differentiated into first-generation solar cells, second, and third. The first generation is characterized by the utilization of a silicon water as the basic structure of the solar cell; The second-generation technology utilizing deposition material to produce a thin layer (thin film) which can act as solar cells; and the third generation is characterized by the use band gap engineering technology to produce high-efficiency solar cells with a tandem or multiple stackes concept. Most solar cells are solar cells produced the first generation, which is about 90% (2008). In the future, the second generation will be more popular, and will eventually get a bigger market share. European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) estimates that the market share of thin film will reach 20% in 2010. The third generation of solar cells is still in the stage of research and development, has not been able to compete on a commercial scale.
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As Indonesia is the tropical country, which has located in the equatorial line therefore this geographical condition has become the benefit in order to develop Solar Panel Energy (2014). The Solar Irradiance has indicated as the biggest in Asia. The intencity of solar irradiance across Indonesia has reached 4,8 kWh/m/day. Therefore it can be potentially implemented in the east regions of Indonesia, such as Maluku, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Sulawesi, and many small islands around those regions. Additionally, the lack of security supply in east regions of Indonesia allows the government to conceive the regulation in order to implement the middle-high capcity of solar panel plant. The reasons are:
First, Currently, less then 50% of east regions in Indonesia has supplied with the electricity because ofthe difficulties of PLN to expand the grid / transmission onto the subthere are many island sand, therefore PLN has difficulties to expand the grid / transmission because of high investment. In accordance to this, many IPPs have cooperated with PLN to develop PLTD (Diesel power plant) to fulfill the needs of electricity supply. Nevertheless, most of Diesel power plant has been old. It negatively impacts towards the efficiency of electricity production because the needs of electricity supply have rapidly increased as the mushrooming increment of population in Indonesia.
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Second, The trend of investment cost in solar panel in some developing countries has decreased in past 10 years. In the year of 2000, the investment in Solar Panel was US$ 5.830/kW. It decreased about 40% in 2005 to be US$3.190/kW. And in 2010, the total investment in Solar Panel has become affordable with the cost US$1650/kW. Indoneisa Electricity Association (2013) predicts that the investment cost would be affordable with the amount of US$1.210/kW in 2020. Additionally the investment cost will decrease with the amount of US$ 968/kW in 2030. This might happen if the solar power plant producers use the 80% of local component and assembley the solar power product in local area because the raw material needed has been ready (including the silicon sand) and the consideration of low labour cost and operational & maintenance activities
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Third, Carbon emission issues and Four, Sustaining the continuity of electricity supply by utilizing the high capacity and centralized Solar Power Plant switch the old Diesel power plant in off grid area. In addition, optimizing the small-medium capacity of solar home system in many districts area in East Indonesia, which has not been supplied by electricity
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​According to Fathoni, et al. on its Journal titled "A Technical and Economic Potential of Solar Energy Application with Feed-in Tarieff Policy in Indonesia", A review of solar energy potential in Indonesia based on the solar resource data is presented. Estimation of solar resource in Indonesia was done using solar radiation data from NASA Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy (SSE). Retscreen software was used for all of the calculation in the study. It is found that the proposed system can generate electricity annually vary from 0.46 GWh/year in Denpasar to 217 GW/year in Pontianak. Fathoni, et al. therefore mention that as the tropical countries and lies in the equatorial line, daylight is abundant in Indonesia. With this advantages, therefore the government has decided to have a feed in tariff for solar energy as an incentive to grow the interest in developing solar energy in Indonesia. In accordance to this, the government has targetted the capacity installed from solar energy up to 0.87 GW by 2025. (AN,CBN)
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