Notes on Sumba Island's Renewable Energy Initiatives

Overview of Sumba Island

• Location: Eastern Indonesia
• Cultural Distinctiveness:
  • Unique burial traditions
  • Animist religions
  • Own unique language
• Common Issues:
  • Poverty
  • High infant mortality
  • Diseases such as malaria

Energy Access Challenges

• Population: Approximately 650,000 islanders
• Electricity Access:
  • Nearly half the population lacks access to electricity
  • Reliance on kerosene and wood fires for lighting and cooking
  • Issues: Expensive, unsafe, and unhealthy

Renewable Energy Potential

• Resources Available:
  • Abundant solar energy
  • Biomass resources
  • Significant potential for hydro power and wind energy

Initiatives and Partnerships

• Hevos NGO:
  • Collaborating with the Indonesian government
  • Goal: Extend electricity access to the majority of Sumba's population using 100% renewable energy
• Support:
  • Attracted partnerships from other development partners and the private sector
  • Recently received support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Progress in Renewable Energy Implementation

• Case Study: We Potendo Village:
  • Benefits from a government-sponsored small-scale solar project
  • Powers 36 houses at a lower monthly fee compared to kerosene
  • Impact:
    • Improved quality of life for the village headman and residents
    • Better opportunities for work and study after dark
    • Access to television for the first time

ADB's Involvement

• Initial Grant:
  • $1 million technical assistance grant in 2013
• Follow-up Support:
  • Increased to $2 million with a grant from the government of Norway
• Objective:
  • Scale up renewable energy access in Sumba and other parts of eastern Indonesia
  • Develop a replicable model for energy access in poor, isolated communities

Importance of the Initiative

• Potential Impact:
  • Success in Sumba could enable wider cost-effective energy access in other isolated regions of Indonesia
  • A model for energy solutions in similar communities globally.