UII Calls for Use of New, Renewable Energies

Yogyakarta—Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) supports the use of environmentally-friendly new and renewable energies to achieve a sustainable future.

As part of this vision, UII collaborated with the UII Waqf Foundation (YBW) and PT Surya Nuansa Utama (SUN) Energy to organize the UII Solar System Inauguration Ceremony at the Mohammad Natsir Building in UII’s Main Campus on Monday, 18 September 2023.

During this event, UII officially inaugurated its solar power plant.

Rooftop solar panel systems were installed at UII’s Faculty of Civil Engineering & Planning and Faculty of Industrial Engineering as an alternative source of energy. The installation process kicked off on 5 February 2023 and was completed by 30 March 2023.

YBW UII Chairman, Dr. Suparman Marzuki, S.H., M.Si., was optimistic that the initiative would take UII forward, especially during times when campus’ energy consumption is increasing, and electricity technology is still limited.

“The installation of these solar panel systems will reduce UII’s monthly cost for electricity. We hope this will make UII a healthy, environmentally-conscious campus and this will spread to the other units and faculties,” he said.

This initiative shows UII’s active role in supporting the sustainable development goals by protecting and preserving the environment. UII Rector Prof. Fathul Wahid, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D. expressed his gratitude, saying that the solar power plant is the university’s milestone in utilizing renewable energy.

“Alhamdulillah, [thank God] in the last few years we have carried out various efforts, and this complements them,” he said.

“We have been carrying out efforts to show more love for the environment, for the earth, and we continue to do so. Some efforts were initiated by the foundation’s members, the others came from us, such as the constructions of two reservoirs. These are to preserve the ecosystem around campus,” the rector added.

Further, Prof. Fathul Wahid said that digital development was also part of the campus’ endeavor to cut energy use. An example of this is the integrated UIIPrint service that facilitates easy monitoring.

“We will be very happy if we can all promote this. UIIPrint is not intended to increase the number of printouts, but rather to control the amount of paper used by the organization,” he said.

Positive Change

The reason for UII to cooperate with PT SUN Energy is because the company is a solar power developer company that has partnered with 11 universities. They are committed to supporting positive changes in Indonesia’s energy sector.

This cooperation is a concrete step towards supporting the sustainable development goals agenda and accelerate Indonesia’s transition to renewable energy sources.

PT SUN Energy deputy CEO Dionpius Jefferson said UII was the 11th partner university in the company’s education sector program. “We see that the education sector is taking part in Indonesia’s energy transition agenda through the installation of solar PV on campuses. By installing them at universities, we will not only make an impact on society, but also prepare the workforce from an early stage,” he said.

SUN Energy expected the solar panel installation would produce up to 572,873 kWh per annum and facilitated the campus’ academic community in developing their knowledge capacity and practice.

“We hope that students will gain more knowledge regarding PLTS. They can do research on or study about PLTS so that they can become a ready-to-use workforce in the future,” he explained.

Deputy Head of the Yogyakarta Public Works, Housing and Energy and Mineral Resources (PUPESDM) Agency, Kusno Wibowo, S.T., M.Si., conveyed the Yogyakarta Provincial Government’s appreciation for UII’s efforts and support for the energy transition process and strengthening regional energy security.

“We congratulate the entire UII academic community for this achievement. We hope the rooftop PLTS can be used as an educational tool for the UII academic community to continue to innovate to find energy technologies that are more efficient and environmentally friendly,” he said.

Apart from the university leadership and faculty representatives, the inauguration was attended by YBW UII members, Manager of PT PLN UP3 Yogyakarta, President Director of PT Shams Energy, and representatives from PT SUN Energy. (VIP Magazine Vol 10)