The “Pūngao Pattimura Mini-grid Training Lab” is now fully installed at the Engineering Faculty of Pattimura University and the system has received its commissioning certificate. 

The Programme Steering Group (PSG), made up of New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT, represented by the New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta), along with PLN, EBTKE, and NZMATES as the Secretariat, recently held its fourth meeting on May 5.

NZMATES presented the programme’s progress so far, key achievements, and work plan until October 2021. PSG members had the opportunity to discuss these updates and priorities, and in particular highlighted the importance of fund-matching activities and O&M needs for solar power plants in Maluku. 

The 9th Indo EBTKE ConEx 2020, organized by the Indonesian Renewable Energy Society (METI) and fully supported by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, was recently held virtually due to the pandemic.

Two NZMATES team members, Deputy Programme Manager Safitri Yanti Baharuddin and Renewable Energy Technical Specialist Kurnia Setiawan, were invited as speakers in two separate sessions.

In order to strengthen long-term renewable energy capacities in Maluku, NZMATES has engaged with Pattimura University (UNPATTI) since the beginning of the programme. Various collaborations have come to fruition, including guest lectures from the New Zealand Ambassador to Indonesia, and from Infratec Engineer Dr. Andrew Crossland, as well as NZMATES supporting Electrical Engineering Lecturer Antoni Simanjuntak to attend a 4-week Training of Trainers course on off-grid solar PV, that led to the creation of an off-grid solar PV course in the campus.

Car. Plane. Boat. Hike. For Mauricio Solano-Peralta, a renewable energy engineer from Infratec Ltd., sometimes reaching the project site can prove more of a challenge than designing a renewable-based energy system.