VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

FILE PHOTO: An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo - 

LONDON : Technology giant Google has signed its largest ever power purchase agreement (PPA) with offshore wind projects off the coast of the Netherlands as part of efforts to green its power supply and hit climate targets, it said on Thursday.

Renewable power project developers are increasingly tying their electricity output to long-term PPAs to provide revenue security, while corporate buyers are keen to lock in supply and ensure they meet targets for sourcing clean power.

Under its largest offshore wind PPA to date, Google has agreed to take 478 megawatts (MW) of power from two new wind farms developed by Crosswind & Ecowende Consortia, joint ventures between energy companies Shell and Dutch utility Eneco.

It also announced smaller renewable PPAs in Italy, Poland and Belgium but did not disclose any financial details of the deals.

"Our ambition to operate on carbon-free energy around the clock by 2030 requires clean energy solutions in every grid where we operate," said Matt Brittin, President of Google in EMEA

Many companies with similar goals currently work on an annual basis, matching PPAs or purchases of renewable energy certificates with their yearly electricity use.

Google, however, is seeking to match each hour of electricity used with an hour of clean power production, something proponents of the method say better reflects companies' actual energy use//CNA-VOI

Bank Indonesia's Logo - 

Voinews, Jakarta - Indonesia's inflation rate eased to 2.57 per cent in January, roughly in line with market forecasts and near the midpoint of the central bank's target range, data from the statistics bureau showed on Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected a January annual rate of 2.55 per cent, cooling from December's 2.61 per cent.

Bank Indonesia (BI) targets inflation within a range of 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent this year.

The core inflation rate, which strips out government-controlled prices and volatile food prices, also cooled to 1.68 per cent in January, from 1.80 per cent in the previous month. The poll had expected a rate of 1.76 per cent.

The statistics bureau said it has changed the base year for its calculation of the consumer price index to 2022, compared with its previous base year of 2018.

Inflation in Southeast Asia's largest economy has stayed within the central bank's target range since the middle of 2023, helped by BI's interest rate hiking cycle of 250 basis points between August 2022 and October 2023.

Despite the low headline figure, food prices have risen in the country amid supply disruptions due to drier than usual weather.

Volatile food inflation accelerated to 7.22 per cent in January, from December's 6.73 per cent, reflecting rising prices of rice, garlic, tomato, chili and chicken.

BI Governor Perry Warjiyo has said he saw room for the central bank to begin cutting interest rates in the second half of 2024, though other officials have also noted upside risks to BI's inflation forecast due to pressure on food prices//CNA-VOI

FILE PHOTO: AI Artificial intelligence words, miniature of robot and EU flag are seen in this illustration taken December 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo - 

STOCKHOLM : More than a third of European businesses adopted artificial intelligence in 2023 as use of generative AI surged, a report commissioned by Amazon Web Services found.

The European Commission, the EU executive, in 2021 presented its 2030 Digital Decade vision to transform the region, with 80 per cent of the population acquiring basic digital skills, 5G connectivity everywhere and 75 per cent of EU companies using cloud services.

In 2022, however, only a quarter of EU businesses had adopted AI and a report last year estimated the European Union was at risk of falling behind its Digital Decade goals by ten years unless the governments focused on bridging the skills gap.

"Last year was pivotal; from Malmo to Milan, the accessibility of generative AI created an appetite for experimentation among consumers and businesses," Tanuja Randery, Managing Director at AWS, told Reuters.

"The accelerated uptake of AI last year has helped put Europe on track to meet its Digital Decade goals," she said.

The survey conducted by Strand Partners of over 16,000 citizens and 14,000 businesses found 38 per cent of companies were experimenting with AI.

The report estimated the positive economic impact of AI at an additional 600 billion euros, on top of an earlier estimate of 2.8 trillion euros//CNA-VOI

Indonesian Ambassador to Namibia Wisnu Edi Pratignyo (in grey suit) during a meeting with Namibian Foreign Affairs Ministry's Director of Bilateral Affairs Sabine Moller and Director of the United Nations World Food Program to Namibia George Fedha on Monday (January 29, 2024). (ANTARA/HO-KBRI Windhoek) - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The Indonesian Government is committed to solidifying relations and stepping up development cooperation with African countries, including Namibia, Indonesian Ambassador to Namibia Wisnu Edi Pratignyo stated.

According to a statement received here on Wednesday (Jan 31) from the Indonesian Embassy in Windhoek, Pratignyo met with Namibian Foreign Affairs Ministry's Director of Bilateral Affairs Sabine Moller and Director of the UN World Food Program to Namibia George Fedha on Monday (Jan 29).

"Indonesia is ready to broaden the extent of fields covered by Indonesia-Namibia development cooperation to include agriculture, fishery, and education," he noted.

In its statement, the embassy highlighted that Moller and Fedha warmly welcomed the ambassador's offer, particularly concerning the agriculture sector. The cooperation is expected to further strengthen ties between Indonesia and Namibia and help the two countries grow their economy.

During the meeting, Pratignyo also stated that Indonesia would host the Indonesia-Africa Forum II in May this year to demonstrate the country's genuine commitment to strengthening bonds with countries in Africa.

"The Indonesia-Africa Forum II is expected to serve as an effective platform for deepening cooperation and paving the way for even closer relations between Indonesia and African countries," the ambassador noted.

The first edition of the Indonesia-Africa Forum took place in Indonesia's Bali Province in 2018.

Africa was among the continents visited by Indonesian President Joko Widodo last year. The president stated that Indonesia and African countries share longstanding historical relations, given that Indonesia was the pioneer and host of the Asia-Africa Conference in 1955.

During the period of August 20-25 last year, President Widodo had visited the African continent for the first time ever in the capacity of head of state.

Widodo had the opportunity to visit four African countries, namely Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa. The president made the most of his inaugural visits to hold high-level bilateral meetings with the aim of exploring bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including trade, investment, and development//ANT-VOI