Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, recently awarded Scottish firm Nova Innovation GBP 200,000 (USD 273,000) of investment funds to evaluate the feasibility of installing a 7 megawatt (MW) array of tidal turbines in Indonesia.
Advanced 100 kilowatt (kW) tidal turbines, which have already been powering houses for the past six years in Scotland, will be deployed by Nova Innovation in the Larantuka Strait, which has one of the strongest tidal currents in Indonesia, and is located between the islands of Flores and Adonara. The Feasibility of Larantuka and Indonesian Tidal Energy (Flite) project, which is Nova Innovation’s first project in Asia, aims to tap on Indonesia’s rich tidal energy resources to generate clean and sustainable energy.
Fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil are largely being used for electricity generation in Indonesia, accounting for 83% of electricity generation in 2020. However, the country has set ambitious decarbonization strategies such as “Visi Indonesia 2045” and the “Long-Term Strategy on Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Development 2050”. In this context, tidal energy resources will facilitate the decarbonization of Indonesian economy. Partnering with the Indonesian Institute of Technology (ITS), Nova will be able to conduct the on-site technical and socio-economic research needed to support the business case for building the tidal array.
(Source: The Scotsman)
