The issues of energy has been regulated on Law No. 30/2007 article 3 that, supporting renewable national development and enhancing national energy security, the national energy management should turn into the renewable energy management. For one reason, the renewable energy is an entity of national development and security which should be manage overseen so that public access toward energy need can escalate and national development can run equally.

On a national seminar “Renewable Development and Energy as a Mean of Social Changes” conducted by Muhammadiyah Student Association (IMM) of Engineering Faculty of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) on Thursday (5/4) at A.R. Fachruddin B, floor 5, Regent of Sleman, Drs. H. Sri Purnomi, M.Si. stated that the renewable energy can assist the underprivileged people or who live in remote areas to access energy. Thus, prosperity can be attained through lifting energy availability and constructing energy infrastructure to developing areas so that it can diminishing the disparities among areas.

Sri informed that government of Sleman is now taking over the renewable energy. “There are three renewable energy resources which become the foremost focus of Sleman, namely micro-hydro, solar, and urban waster,” he mentioned.

Micro-hydro refers to small-scale hydroelectric power plants for irrigation canals, rivers, and waterfalls. “Based on research data in 2008, micro-hydro development in Sleman has been accomplished in 17 points with the total power counted 549.6 kW,” Sri told.

Solar radiation figures in Sleman are calculated approximately 0.4 kWh/m2 for 4.5 hours/day with 23 MWh biogas. The solar energy was employed to develop biogas and to switch on traffic lights in Sleman.

“Besides, the urban waste in Sleman is reckoned 1,268 m3/day so that the possibility to recycle the waste is quite high. Government is now creating the waste management. Public has been handling cow manure and tofu waste well for biogas which also helps the tofu production,” he ended.