VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia has more than 4,400 rivers that have great potential to be used to generate hydropower, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said.

"Regarding hydro potential, Indonesia has more than 4,400 potential rivers and 128 of them are large rivers, such as the Mamberamo River in Papua, which has a potential of 24 thousand megawatts, and the Kayan River with a potential of 13 thousand megawatts," he highlighted while opening the 2023 World Hydropower Congress here on Tuesday.

The Kayan River in North Kalimantan will later be used as a source of electricity for the Green Industrial Park in Kalimantan, he added.

President Widodo said that the over four thousand rivers represent great potential that can be utilized for the future of the planet and Indonesia's future generations.

However, Indonesia is also facing several challenges, one of which is related to the location of hydropower sources, which are far from centers of electricity demand, he pointed out.

In view of this problem, the Indonesian government has created a blueprint for accelerating the laying of transmission lines that can carry electricity to locations at the center of economic growth and industrial growth centers so that its value becomes higher.

"Meanwhile, another challenge is funding and technology transfer, which requires quite a bit of investment and requires collaboration with all hydro ecosystem powers in the world," he said.

He then expressed the hope that the World Hydropower Congress would serve as a collaborative forum that produces policy recommendations and boosts investment to support the use of hydro energy for building a sustainable and green economy.

Such policy recommendations and investments are important, considering that many changes and natural phenomena have occurred in recent times.

"Our Earth is under the weather. The UN says that currently it is no longer global warming, but it has entered global boiling," he said.

If the Earth's temperature rises to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, it is predicted that 210 million people will experience water shortages, 14 percent of the population will be exposed to heat waves, 297 million houses will be submerged by coastal floods, and 600 million people will experience malnutrition due to crop failure, Widodo explained.

This phenomenon is a real threat to people in various parts of the world. So, tackling it will require collaborative work.

Indonesia is fully committed to accelerating the energy transition through the addition of new and renewable energy on a large scale because the nation is rich in green energy potential, the President added.

"Based on calculations (the addition of new and renewable energy) is estimated to reach 3,600 gigawatts, starting from (energy derived from the) sun, wind, geothermal, ocean currents, waves, bioenergy, and also hydropower," he said. (Antaranews)