Sumenep, E Java (ANTARA) - The East Java administration has continued its renewable energy program by installing rooftop solar panels at 25 Islamic boarding schools (pesantrens), a local government official has said.
One of the schools that has received 10 thousand-watt solar panels is Pesantren Al-Amien, head of East Java province's Energy and Mineral Resources Office, Nurkholis, said.
The school is located in Prenduan village, Pragaan sub-district, Sumenep district, he informed, adding that the solar panels were installed on the roof of the pesantren's dormitory.
East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa recently inaugurated the solar panels installed at Pesantren Al-Amien, he said in a statement received by ANTARA here on Saturday.
With the installation of the solar panels, students who are staying at the pesantren's dormitory can enjoy solar electricity, Nurkholis said.
Besides assisting the pesantrens, the East Java administration has also installed solar panels on the roofs of government buildings and provided 4,555 houses with free electricity connections to enable them to get electrified, he added.
ANTARA reported earlier that the Indonesian government is relying on solar power plants (PLTS) as a backbone to supply clean energy in Indonesia by 2060.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Arifin Tasrif, recently said that the program to make PLTS the backbone of clean energy cannot be separated from Indonesia's geographical location on the equator.
Based on the ministry's calculations, Indonesia’s total solar energy potential is 3,294 gigawatt-peak (GWp).
The government will optimize this potential by building PLTS in residential areas, open fields, and savannas, while excluding development in protected forest areas, Tasrif added.
