UHI North, West and Hebrides research brings clean energy closer for Indonesia’s island communities
New research from the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) at UHI North, West and Hebrides is helping to bring clean, affordable energy to remote coastal communities in Indonesia.
Working with INGINE Wave Energy Systems, the study shows how small, modular wave energy devices could provide a reliable source of electricity for island communities – reducing reliance on diesel and improving energy security.
Indonesia has set a target to generate 44% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. To reach this goal, the country must reduce its use of fossil fuels and address issues such as deforestation for fuel. With more than 4,000 km of coastline exposed to steady waves from the Indian Ocean, wave energy offers a strong and largely untapped opportunity to generate clean power and reduce carbon emissions.
As part of the project, researchers at UHI focused on the island of Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara to develop a high-resolution wave model to understand how suitable the area is for wave energy. This helped solve a common problem in remote locations – the lack of long-term wave measurements.
Dr Benjamin Williamson, Associate Professor at UHI and co-author of the study said: “This was an exciting opportunity to collaborate with a leading wave energy developer to apply our modelling techniques to help support decarbonisation goals and renewable energy for remote coastal communities.”
Jeff Lee, Project Lead for the Innovate UK INWave Demonstration Project and Managing Director at INGINE Wave Energy Systems Ltd, said: “The high-resolution modelling developed by the team at the University of the Highlands and Islands has been a game-changer for our Innovate UK early-stage project. In remote areas like West Nusa Tenggara, the lack of traditional, in-situ wave data is a massive hurdle for developers. This collaboration provided us with a robust, scientifically validated method to confirm the site's wave energy potential. It shows that the Sumbawa site is highly suitable for our modular wave energy converters, giving us the critical confidence and data we need to move forward.”
The research shows how new modelling methods, supported by satellite data, can help speed up the development of renewable energy projects in hard-to-reach areas.
The study, published in the Springer Nature Journal of Ocean Engineering and Marine Energy, is titled: “Methodology for wave power estimation at remote sites with satellite altimeter validation applied to Indonesia.”