Access to affordable, reliable energy transforms communities. For most Australian and Indonesian families and businesses, that energy still comes from national grids—the networks of power lines that connect users to power suppliers.

But about 67 million Indonesians—almost a third of the country’s population—are not on the grid. They either rely on expensive, non renewable sources of power—often diesel—or they have no access to power at all. That poses a critical challenge for sustainable development of Indonesia—a nation of islands. To meet the Government’s goal of 90 per cent electricity coverage by 2020 the country’s electricity generation must grow by nine per cent per year.

Australia also has many remote indigenous communities, island communities and remote mine sites that rely predominantly on electricity generated locally from expensive to deliver, and CO2 emitting diesel.

So what are the best ways to transform energy supply in the two countries?

The Australia-Indonesia Centre has created an Energy Cluster of applied research projects to explore:

• Local area microgrids: rolling out sustainable energy access for all communities
• Energy system transformation pathways: what is the right balance between centralised electricity transmission and local area microgrids?
• Choosing the right technologies: energy technology and cost assessment for Indonesia and Australia.

Read more about the Cluster at:
australiaindonesiacentre.org/clusters/energy

Credit for banner image: Max Richter.