Indonesia’s micro hydro plants

Catholic Pastor Marselus Hasan from Reno village, Flores initiated a micro-hydro power project in his village after seeing how the villagers suffered from unreliable electricity due to the daily maintenance required to repair generators. Contributions from villagers to cover some construction costs amounted to 2 million rupiah (EUR 120) per family, supplemented by funding from the United Nations Development Programme and Bank NTT, as well as a loans from a local cooperative. The Wae Rina Micro-Hydro Power Plant began construction in 2012 and was completed in four months, providing electricity to 134 households, one community health centre, a market and a church. Due to the success of the initial project, Marselus and the team developed three additional micro-hydro power plants: Wae Mese Wangkar plant in Sambi Rampas subdistrict and the Wae Laban Elar and Wae Lenger plants in Elar Poco Ranaka subdistrict. The power plants resulted in estimated cost savings of 230 000 rupiah/month (EUR 14) for villagers that relied on kerosene and 860 000 rupiah/month (EUR 50) for villagers that relied on diesel generators; it also served to boost community solidarity.

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