 Jakarta, 31 May 2006 - In 10 months' time, by the end of March 2007, a working prototype of the patented Kobold turbine will be installed to produce 200 kW of electric power from marine currents, supplying clean and renewable electricity to an Indonesian island.
This announcement has just been made by the Chairman of Ponte di Archimede S.p.A. and the inventor of the technology, Elio Matacena, at a ceremony to create the Italian-Indonesian joint-venture between his Company and Walinusa Energi, an Indonesian alternative energy company. It is a j/v forming part of a programme to disseminate Kobold Farms in the developing countries, initiated by UNIDO (the United Nations Industrial Development Organization) as its representative, Emilio Vento, pointed out.
The ceremony took place this morning at the Marriott hotel in Jakarta, attended by members of the Indonesian government, including the Assistant Minister for Technology and Sustainable Development - Ministry of Environment, Dana A. Kartakusuma, the Deputy Minister for Research and Technology, Bambang Sapto Pratomosunu, the Head of the Logistics Division of the Ministry of Defence, Gen. Suwanto Sutjiamo, the UNIDO Project coordinator, Emilio Vento, the Director of the UNIDO office in Jakarta, Masayoshi Matsushita, and the Chairmen of the two parties to the joint venture, Emil Abeng (of Walinusa Energi) and Elio Matacena.
Once the prototype is ready, the new company, called Kobold Nusa (Nusa being the ancient name of Indonesia, and representing the group of islands that consider themselves as comprising a single entity) will begin marketing the locally-manufactured turbines throughout Indonesia and in other areas of the Pacific.
The prototype installation site will be identified in the coming weeks by the engineers of both companies. It is likely to be the island of Sulaya, which would benefit not only from having its own electricity for domestic use, but also desalinated seawater for drinking, and for refrigerating fish and irrigated agriculture, which will greatly enhance the local people's quality of life.
"I am delighted with this initiative" said the Assistant Minister, Dana A. Kartokusuma, “following the presentation of the Kobold turbine three weeks ago in New York at the meeting of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development which I attended. The widespread use of this technology will enable our country to postpone the use of nuclear power as late as possible, until a new generation of fusion reactors has been developed."
The Deputy Minister for Science and Technology, Bambang Sapto Pratomosunu, thanked UNIDO and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for enabling Indonesia to become the world's first country, after Italy, to harness the benefits of the Kobold turbine: "We are proud," he said, "to be the country where this new energy technology will be produced and developed."
General Suwanto Sutjiamo voiced the interest of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence for offering a valid solution for supplying energy to military facilities (radar and terrestrial and satellite communications facilities) located on remote islands on the national borders.
"Let us not forget," continued Elio Matacena, "that five days ago, this country was struck by a violent earthquake which has killed least 6000 people. It is our hope that this initiative will deliver electricity, and development prospects, to the victims of natural disasters and physical isolation who have so far been denied the positive results of progress."
The Italian Minister for the Environment, Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, sent a message of congratulations to the participants at the ceremony: "I am a convinced advocate," he said, "of clean and renewable energy sources, and I am delighted that a technology based on an Italian patent is showing that an alternative does exist, with significant prospects, to the present plundering of fossil fuel sources. I am impressed by the fact that our Indonesian colleague expects the adoption of this technology to delay recourse to nuclear power. I hope that Indonesia will discover that it can give up the idea of nuclear power altogether, by exploiting marine currents, with which Nature has endowed it as an inexhaustible energy source."
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