Green Energy Lights Up Sumba

SUMBA, an island in East Nusa Tenggara province, is blessed with all of nature's elementswind, sunlight and waterrenewable sources of energy. Yet, despite this great potential, the island's electrification, according to Dutch development organization Hivos, is only 24.5 percent. In 2010, collaborating with a number of other organizations and with government support, Hivos launched its Sumba Iconic Island project, with the goal to produce 100 percent renewable energy by 2020, and in the short term, reach an access ratio of 43 percent. Working with residents of Kamanggih village in East Sumba, for instance, they have built a micro-hydro power plant, a wind turbine farm and a solar cell to electrify the entire village. Tempo English visited Sumba last October and filed the following report.