Meghalaya is one of India’s eight states making up the country's rich bio- and ethnically-diverse northeastern region.  Since 2013 HPNET members have worked to advance community-scale hydro in Meghalaya for last-mile energy access:

• In 2013, International Rivers and the Nagaland Empowerment of People thru EnergyDevelopment (NEPeD) hosted a micro hydro exchange event focusing on NE India, which connected HPNET to the Meghalaya Basin Development Agency (MBDA).
  
• In 2015, HPNET enabled India practitioners to attend HPNET’s Members Gathering held in Indonesia at the Hydropower Competence Center (HYCOM), connecting them to Pt entec Indonesia.
  
• In 2016, MBDA and HPNET held a regional exchange in Meghalaya, with VillageRES and PT entec Indonesia as co-facilitators.
  
• In mid-2019, International Rivers and partners, including HPNET, hosted a tri-country dialogue in Meghalaya, with CSOs and local practitioners from Nepal, Myanmar, and India.
  
• In late 2019, HPNET supported a reconnaissance field visit to understand field-based challenges to pico hydro scale up in NE India.
  
• In 2021, HPNET and International Rivers held a three-part virtual exchange focusing on  Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Salween (GBMS) Rivers, providing regional inspiration from across S/SE Asia and customized capacity building.  
  
• The 2021 event included a special keynote by Mr. Augustus Suting, Special Officer at MBDA.
  

In between each of these milestones have been strategy dialogue among members. As such, when MBDA released a tender to accelerate pico hydro for rural electrification, HPNET members already had working relationships and a keen understanding of challenges and key solutions to leverage the opportunity.
​
Below Mr. Ramasubramanian Vaidhyanathan (“Rams”), who has long been committed to the sub-region, provides a brief and exciting update on the most recent technical developments brought forth by a partnership between HPNET members VillageRES and Pt entec Indonesia.

To date an estimated 1000 villages remain unelectrified in the northeastern state of Meghalaya in India, out of approximately 6000 villages.  In 2022, MBDA identified about 200+ micro hydro sites for implementation located throughout the state in communities of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo ethnic tribes.  The identified potential for most of the sites was 3 kW.  A few had a much higher potential but for this tender, projects were limited to 5 kW.

VillageRES (Village Renewable Energy Systems India Private limited) participated in the tender in partnership with EMSYS Electronics Private limited, a solar energy company based in Bangalore. The consortium was awarded 45 sites located throughout Meghalaya.   
​
VillageRES entered into a manufacturing license agreement with PT entec Indonesia to manufacture their new cross flow turbine design with 150mm diameter runners. The turbine is called CFT 150/21.

The fabrication began in July 2022.  Pt entec Director, Mr. Gerhard Fischer, and the team helped us a lot with fabricating the first few pieces – updating drawings, dimensions, a few design corrections, etc. We fabricated the units in the south Indian industrial hub of Coimbatore, in the state of Tamil Nadu. 
​
We are very pleased with the results: the turbines have come out very well made and were cost effective to fabricate. We also tested a few of the turbines at a site in Meghalaya and the performance was fantastic. We will be assessing the performance of this model more thoroughly once all the units are installed.

During the installation process, we found that many of the sites were situated right next to a waterfall and the penstock was installed at nearly a 90 degree angle without any proper support. While it was logical and easier to select sites that had an obvious sufficient head, other aspects, such as the design of the intake structure, penstock route, and penstock support appeared to have been completely overlooked. We realised that the on-site assessment methodology that we utilize in training has to be much more detailed and maybe periodically conducted to continue to build the capacity of the sector’s local personnel. Unless this is carried out, the project sites are prone to failure within a year or two of the installation.

Indonesia's inspiring, 25-year micro/mini hydro sector has been challenged with policies that have stalled local manufacturers and developers from providing electricity both to the central and to last mile communities. 

Local practitioners, including members of the association Asosiasi Hidro Bandung (AHB), came together to strategize how best to convince the government to alleviate policy, finance, and planning bottlenecks.  Established in 1998 and now having 180 members, AHB has been at the forefront of linking entrepreneurs, communities, and the government to continue scaling up small-scale hydropower in Indonesia.  

The meeting was held in late February ​at the prestigious Hydropower Competence Centre (HYCOM) in Bandung, Indonesia, established in 2011 by Pt Entec Indonesia and the Indonesia TECD, with support from the Swiss Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Promotion in International Cooperation (REPIC), ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), and GIZ.

​Public, non-government, and private sector actors each play important roles in the small-scale hydropower landscape.  We are often inspired by the tenacity of locally-rooted, private entrepreneurs who are unperturbed by the challenges that come with establishing and running a financially viable business that also serves rural communities.  In this guest blog post, we hear from Mr. Komarudin, an entrepreneur who wears many hats as a manufacturer, developer, technical consultant, and micro hydro champion in Bandung, Indonesia.  He introduces us to his business, Protel Multi Energy (PME), which has been supporting rural energy access for over a decade. 

Protel Multi Energy focuses on the manufacturing of affordable Digital Electronic Load Controllers (ELCs), as well as micro hydro and pico hydro turbines (crossflow and Pelton) for rural electrification all over the world. Besides product manufacturing we also assist villagers and project owners in planning and designing micro hydro schemes. Sometimes we offer technical supervision on construction and installation. We are also able to do turnkey projects under certain circumstances.

Nowadays, especially in Indonesia, we are developing many micro hydro projects through Dana Desa (village funds). We often provide support for each stage, starting from site survey, to planning and design, project supervision, supply of equipment and post-installation management. Due to their lack of knowledge and experience, we assist villagers to develop their project as their own responsibility, under our supervision to make sure it runs well with a sustainable approach and reliable equipment.

To learn more about PME and access many useful tutorial videos, visit our YouTube channel!

As part of the SEEED Accelerator, HPNET launched the SEEED cohort for the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Salween River Basins, in partnership with International Rivers, to advance community-scale hydropower in the region. 

​With support from TROSA and funding from the Government of Sweden and WISIONS, the SEEED cohort engaged in capacity building, multi-actor dialogue and peer-to-peer exchange, including through a two-day virtual exchange event. 

​You can find video recordings, session summaries, presentation slides, and other event resources at this link!

​Getting to know the Luku Wingir community

Luku Wingir village, an area of 51.8 square km, has a hilly natural landscape with considerably dry land. To get to Luku Wingir it takes about 1.5 hours from Waingapu, the capital of East Sumba district.  Although since 2018 road conditions have improved for car and motorbike accessibility, the route is not traversed by public transportation and therefore access is still limited.

There are about 400 people living in Luku Wingir village, with almost the same ratio of men and women. Most households cultivate corn, cassava, vanilla and cashew nuts for selling to Waingapu. Apart from farming, some people raise pigs, cows, buffaloes, horses and goats. The agricultural and livestock systems there still use traditional methods, so the quantity and quality of farming and raising products are not optimal. Modern agricultural equipment has not yet entered the village, it is only limited to chemical fertilizers. “As for livestock, the villagers are not familiar with the livestock fattening method. If only they are trained and equipped with the knowledge about this, it will help to increase the meat production and increase their income” said Mr. Aryanto who has closely worked with the farmers in the village.

Most households rely on traditional biomass stoves for cooking, while a few have been provided biogas stoves by the government. For lighting, several houses are equipped with solar panels, some of which have been funded by the village government.
​
Before Christianity arrived in Sumba, the Anawaru tribe in Luku Wingir followed the local religion, namely Marapu. Marapu adherents worship the spirits of their ancestors, and they practiced religious rituals that are closely related to nature. For example, there are prayer ceremonies in the forest, near the springs and near old trees to respect their ancestors and nature. Even though this ritual has now disappeared, people still have a close spiritual relationship with nature, and embrace values ​​that are in harmony with nature.

Micro hydro and economic opportunities

Due to inadequate infrastructure problems, Luku Wingir is one of the villages of Sumba that has difficulty accessing energy. The community had been relying on kerosene/ oil lamps until 2015.

Life in Luku Wingir has changed when it started receiving electricity  from a 26 kW micro hydro system installed in the neighboring village of Waimbidi village. The project was funded by the  regional government budget. In the construction and development process, both Waimbidi and Luku Wingir communities were directly involved. They were both also provided with training for maintenance. Thus, there is a sense of shared responsibility among the two villages to maintain the micro hydro. For instance, during a flood the two communities worked together to rehabilitate the micro hydro plant.

Women were not involved in the construction phase nor the regular maintenance of the micro hydro. Women are more actively involved in the utilization and operation of micro hydro. For example, in Luku Wingir’s village-owned enterprise (BUMDes), there is a women-led business unit called the energy and natural resources unit which is responsible for collecting electricity fees and directing the funds to the village cooperative. This fund will be used to cover the operational costs for technicians and micro hydro’s maintenance.

In the last four years, electricity access has been relatively stable for 24 hours. In the village itself, there are 25 households that are not yet connected to the micro hydro due to their location being far from the center of the village.  Even though not all households can enjoy access to electricity evenly, the micro hydro has benefited the village economy. Households can carry out productive activities at night. In addition, the quality of education has also improved because children's learning time outside of school hours has also increased.

​​The impacts of climate change and how society adapts

Climate change has had a real impact on the lives of the Luku Wingir community. Corn planting that normally could be done in December, now has shifted to February or March. Moreover, because the supply of native Sumba seedlings has decreased, the farmers were forced to use seeds from outside Sumba (e.g. hybrid plants) that are not adaptive to the Sumba’s natural environment. This affects the quality of crop production, and consequently impacts farmers' income.

Climate change, however, has encouraged the community to adapt. Due to the threat of unstable food supply, households use their backyards to grow food crops for their own consumption and for sale within and outside the village. Being self-sufficient in food supplies also helps the community to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given its location, the Luku Wingir communities have limited contact with big cities and tourists. So far it is relatively safe and trade activity remains as usual. 
​
In addition, the traditional Sumba weaving group has been reactivated, as a new business to support income generation. Sumba weaving is still handmade in the traditional way. The dyes used are also natural dyes from leaves, roots, and fruits.

Recommendation to address challenges to the economic development 

Luku Wingir is a fairly developed village compared to five other villages in the surrounding area. There are several factors driving this development. Luku Wingir benefits from its location in a sub-district village. Moreover, since it was selected as a gender-energy model village, it received attention from the government. Furthermore, it also benefits from  the formation of OPD (Regional Apparatus Organization) in East Sumba and the supporting program that aims at accelerating the village's economic development.

However, there are still challenges that hamper Luku Wingir’s economic growth. In our conversation, Mrs. Trouce and Mr. Aryanto proposed a couple of recommendations to address these challenges. 

• Equitable and inclusive energy access
  Equitable access to energy for all houses in the village is fundamental for inclusive economic growth. Not only will this ensure  all families have access to electricity and clean cooking, but it will also enhance farming, agri processing and market activities.. Providing electricity to the 25 un-electrified households requires extending the distribution line of the existing micro hydro system. This would mean creating a road, which will also enhance transportation and logistics routes, opening additional market access routes. 

• Skills-building for agri-processing
  Developing the villagers’ skills will help to increase the value of their agricultural products Luku Wingir has great economic potential that can be developed, such as processing cashew nuts, bamboo, or creative economy (such as ikat weaving for example). However, the limited skills of the community prevent the village from developing added value to the products it produces.

​
As a pilot village, Luku Wingir has successfully set an example of how energy access using community-based micro hydro has helped to enhance the local economy, and encouraged two villages communities to work hand-in-hand, while preserving nature and respecting the local values of gotong royong (collective actions). 

While every village has its own challenges and requires a tailored solution, the best practices from the case of Luku Wingir may be adopted elsewhere, especially for neighboring villages that can mutually benefit from a micro hydro project.  

Content provided by Lina Noviandari and Rita Kefi at HIVOS Southeast Asia
Composed by Cherika Hardjakusumah, with editing support the HPNET Secretariat

Technical Overview

The civil engineering and electro-mechanical equipment of the Salido Kecil MHP, although built ~100 years ago, is an engineering masterpiece and a benchmark for high-quality hydropower projects even for today. The system is equipped with Siemens & Schuckert generators, Pelton turbines, and first-generation Hansen & MAN mechanical jet deflectors, all from Germany.
​

• Civil work infrastructure.  A 2.2 km long power channel -- partially in an earth-covered tunnel, with 4 long aqueducts and a pair of parallel gravel sedimentation basins near the intake, and a pair of parallel de-sanders near the forebay -- provide the perfect water quality for the operation of the electro-mechanical system.  With a head of 110 m, the cast iron penstock is 342 m long and 600/700 m in diameter, with lead-sealed joints.

 

• Electro-mechanical system.  The system has 3 generators direct-coupled at 750 RPM to 3 different Pelton turbines, each of 400 kVa capacity. Each turbine has 2 runners on the shaft, with 4 nozzles. In total, there are 6 runners and 12 nozzles. Eight nozzles are on/off type and 4 nozzles are adjustable, in order to fine tune the water level at the forebay tank during the dry season.  The system is equipped with synchronizing jet defector control at each nozzle.  The design output of the system was 600 kW.

Project Timeline
​

• Early 1900s:  The project was constructed by Dutch engineers to provide electricity to a nearby gold mine.
• 1940s:  Japanese military occupied the plant for its own use.
• 1950s:  The Indonesian civil war resulted in the abandoning of the project, during which the penstock was extensively damaged from extreme floods in West Sumatra.
• Early 1960s:  PT. Anggrek Mekar Sari (AMS) repaired the system and obtained government permission to operate and sell electricity to the local grid of the utility, PLN. 
• 1960s - 1990s:  AMS’ attempt to sell electricity to the neighboring city of Painan and later to a local cement factory failed due to PLN connecting the area to the West Sumatra grid.   
• 1995:  During a period of large government subsidy for diesel, PLN connected a diesel-powered plant to the same local grid, and AMS was forced to disconnect the Selido-Kecil Mini Hydro from the local grid.  
• 1995 - 2005:  To survive financially, AMS sold electricity to its own ice factory, utilizing the one last functional turbine.  entec AG from Switzerland conducts field assessments and an investor search to rehabilitate the entire system of 3 turbines.  
• 2006:  After much difficulty in finding investors due to the policy situation, entec AG decided to invest on its own and secured a loan from the Triodos Development Bank in the Netherlands.
• 2006 - 2007:  PT entec Indonesia (a subsidiary of entec AG)  jointly with AMS, on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis,  started the rehabilitation of the “Unit 2” turbine, resulting in an output of 315 kW.
• 2008 - 2009:  The “Unit 1” turbine is rehabilitated. The project obtains the Gold Standard Verified Emission Reductions (GS-VER).
• 2011 - 2012:  The “Unit 3” turbine is rehabilitated, requiring the ice factory to close.
• 2013:  All 3 units are rehabilitation and operational, generating 780 kW, instead of the expected design output of 1000 kW, due to losses in the penstock.

​
Source for timeline:  Rehabilitation of the Mini Hydro Power Plant PLTA Salido Kecil, Feasibility Study, Entec AG Switzerland, 1999
​

Feed-In-Tariff Challenges

There are two schemes of power purchase agreement in Indonesia’s energy administration: excess power and independent power.  Unfortunately it was not possible until now to change the Excess Power Purchase Agreement (EPPA) applied during the operation of the ice factory to an Independent Power Producer Agreement (IPPA), and the tariff is still very low.  From 2005 until 2018, it was IDR 441 (USD 0.045 / kWh in 2005). From 2018 until today, it has been IDR 470 IDR (USD 0.032 / kWh ), which is a fraction of the IPPA tariff in the region (about USD 0.061 / kWh). 

Considering the inflation, the USD 0.045 in 2005 is equivalent to USD 0.060  today and not USD 0.032 US.  So the actual tariff paid is again being lowered every year. Without an increase of utility tariff, history may repeat, and the operation in some years will again not be profitable. Moreover, in the last 3 years the power plant has been disconnected for some months due to administrative issues and it has been causing a huge income loss.
​
Since September 2019 the power plant has been interconnected again. However, the following observations were made:
​

• The power plant is on the end of a transmission line branch. More and more consumers are connecting, and the voltage is often dropping in the peak power times below 200V. This causes an overheating of the generator and transformer, and the generator must be disconnected in the peak hour. This triggers another voltage drop to 190V of the grid and reconnection is technically only possible at around 11pm or when the voltage is above 215V.  

​

• The operation of Salido MHP reduces the transmission loss of the utility in our power line to the distribution transformer for about 10% of our production. This is not considered in the paid tariff- the opposite is the case– we need to switch off during peak hours because the voltage is too low.​

​

HPNET members in Indonesia and the Philippines are joining forces to provide high quality micro hydro equipment to community-based projects in Mindanao.

The ASEAN Centre for Hydropower Competance (HYCOM) and Pt Entec Indonesia, both global experts for micro hydro technology transfer, are supporting the Yamog Renewable Energy Development Group, Inc., the pioneering NGO committed for nearly three decades to providing electricity to marginalized communities in Mindanao, to explore establishing local manufacturing of cross-flow turbines.  

After multiple online exchanges, in June 2019 HPNET Board members Gerhard Fischer and Ardi Nugraha visited Yamog in Davao City to gauge the local team's capacity for local manufacturing.  Then in October 2019, Yamog's technical leads visit Pt Entec and HYCOM in Bandung, Indonesia to better understand quality standards practiced in Indonesia.  The collaboration is gradually moving toward the goal of locally manufactured cross-flow turbines in Mindanao.

HPNET facilitated the start of collaboration between PT Entec and Yamog in 2018 and the network has benefited immensely from the ongoing contributions of both organizations. It is great to see continuous knowledge exchange (often self-initiated, as in this case) between these long-standing HPNET Members.

Micro hydro development in Indonesia started around 1991 with the support of GIZ (German international cooperation). Later on, Energising Development (EnDev) Indonesia implemented many MHP projects until 2014, with Entec AG Swiss / PT Entec Indonesia as consultants. 

The ASEAN Hydro Competence Centre (HYCOM) was inaugurated in 2011 and is jointly operated and managed by PT Entec Indonesia and the Technical Education Development Centre Bandung (TEDC). In addition to PT Entec and TEDC, HYCOM was established with the support of:

• ASEAN Center for Energy (ACE) and GIZ
• Entec AG
• Renewable Energy Platform Swiss (REPIC)
• University FH Technik (Zurich)

HYCOM works to promote small-scale hydropower and disseminate know-how in the sector. Offering hands-on training and application oriented research, HYCOM endeavours to improve the implementation and operation of small-scale hydropower installations worldwide. To date, HYCOM has conducted about 40 trainings and workshops with 350 participants from 25 countries, and has hosted approximately 500 visitors from all over the world.

​This quarter HYCOM conducted three knowledge transfer activities, which are described below by guest bloggers and HPNET Board Members, Mr. Gerhard Fischer and Mr. Ardi Nugraha.

Interested in a video tour of HYCOM?  Check out the video below!

Guest blog post written by Mr. Gerhard Fischer (Director of PT Entec Indonesia and HYCOM, and HPNET Board of Advisors Member) and Mr. Ardi Nugraha (Senior Manager of PT Entec Indonesia and HYCOM, and HPNET Board of Representatives Member for Indonesia).

They can be reached at office@entec.co.id 

Over the last year, HPNET has shed light on the key factors for sustaining hydro mini-grids over the long-term. This webinar addressed the importance of social enterprise for ensuring mini-grid sustainability, featuring practitioners who are leading the transition from grant-dependent to enterprise-based hydro mini-grids. The speakers highlighted the potential for local social enterprise to support revenue-driven and equitable hydro mini-grids. 

The webinar presented:
​

• The linkage between enterprise-based approaches and long-lived hydro mini-grids;
• Best practices to transition from grant-dependent to local social enterprise models, based on micro hydro experience in Nepal, Malaysia, and Indonesia;
• Solutions to scale their efforts to more micro hydro communities, including how to make better use of funding resources that currently go toward grant-dependent projects.

Introducing SEEED

The webinar also introduced our new HPNET initiative: Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological, and Economic Development (SEEED). SEEED aims to support local practitioners and micro hydro communities in the transition to enterprise-based approaches.

The webinar supported an initial objective of SEEED, by identifying and highlighting the work of practitioners who are already paving the path toward long-lived mini-grids anchored in local social enterprise.
​
Stay tuned for more information on SEEED, to be released in coming weeks!

​

Last week, HPNET members in Indonesia and Malaysia came together to share their micro hydropower expertise and support each other's important work in energy access. HPNET Board members Gerhard Fischer and Ardi Nugraha of PT Entec Indonesia visited the TONIBUNG team at CREATE in Sabah, Malaysia to provide input on turbine design and fabrication techniques.

TONIBUNG has pioneered community-based micro hydro in Malaysia, working in partnership with  remote, indigenous communities for over 25 years. Despite their ample experience and expertise, the team is always looking for opportunities to improve their techniques and expand their impact.

HPNET facilitated the start of the partnership between TONIBUNG and PT Entec, way back when, and the network has benefited immensely from the ongoing contributions of both organizations. It is great to see continuous knowledge exchange (often self-initiated, as in this case) between these long-standing HPNET Members.

HPNET and WISIONS hosted a Deep Dive Workshop at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) 2019, entitled Hydro Mini-Grids in the Asia-Pacific: Scaling Inclusive
Enterprise-Based Approaches.  Special thanks to the ACEF team, our speakers, and WISIONS for making the rich dialogue possible!

The agenda and speaker bios can be found here.  Watch the videos below!  Or listen to the audio here.

Part 1 - Examples and Opportunities for Enterprise-based Hydro Mini-Grids
Moderator:  Divyam Nagpal
Panelists:  Bir Bahadur Ghale, Hydro Concern Ltd., Nepal; Satish Gautam, UNDP Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihoods, Nepal; Sandra Winarsa, Hivos Southeast Asia; Meherban Khan, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) Pakistan, and Dipti Vaghela, Hydro Empowerment Network

In partnership with the WISIONS of Sustainability Initiative and Energypedia, we are conducting a 4-part, quarterly webinar series on hydro mini-grids -- starting this month.   Join us!  Details below.

Renewable energy mini-grids are a cost-effective and reliable solution for energy access. Within the technologies available for mini-grids, micro/mini hydropower (MHP) has added advantages. It's techno-economic characteristics, such lower levelized cost of electricity, per kilowatt cost, and no need for battery storage, make it economically viable for grid interconnection and productive end use applications.

​Because MHP hardware can be manufactured locally and maintained by local actors, MHP development imparts local skills and jobs, which can evolve into local MHP enterprises. In addition, MHP strengthens catchment area and watershed protection, in turn increasing the climate resilience of vulnerable communities in hilly regions.

The number of hydro mini-grids in rural areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America far exceed other types of mini-grids. As a proven technology with an extensive track record, micro and mini hydropower is the focus in this mini-grid webinar series. The objective of the series is to facilitate exchange among diverse actors advancing small-scale hydro, and promote approaches that lead to long-term success and optimal local benefits. Each of the four webinars will respectively provide insight on MHP reliability, sustainability, financing, and planning for scalability.

WEBINAR 1, MARCH 28, 2019
MINI-GRID RELIABILITY:  THE ROLE OF TRAINING CENTERS FOR MICRO/MINI HYDROPOWER
Watch here:​

• We eagerly await to see whether SHPAM's requests are answered by the agencies involved -- particularly the World Bank, as it is assisting the Myanmar government to design its SE4ALL program this month!  We are hopeful that micro hydro and other renewable energy mini grids are equally prioritized with mainstream but disenfranchising electrification paths being considered by the government and international financiers (including the World Bank).

This evolution is an example of how ground-truthing and in-person exchange can rapidly lead to new developments.  Without REAM's study of the field situation and multi-actor dialogue, the local micro hydro practitioners in Myanmar would have remained invisible to the government and the World Bank, during a very critical phase in Myanmar's energy planning.  And without the Myanmar practitioners' visit to Indonesia, their confidence to form an association to lobby for solutions to improve their work would not have quickly transpired.

We will keep you posted on how the micro hydro (r)evolution in Myanmar continues. :)


By Dipti Vaghela, HPNET Coordinator

On Feb. 2-6, 2015, HPNET's 2nd Annual Gathering of Micro Hydro Practitioners was  held at the ASEAN Hydropower Competence Centre (HYCOM), supported by WISIONS of Sustainability, and coordinated by Janathakshan, PT Entec Indonesia, Bandung Hydro Association (AHB), EnDev Indonesia, and IBEKA. HYCOM is a knowledge centre, offering training as well as facilitating research and development for micro, mini, and small hydropower sectors. In addition to a variety of targeted training activities, HYCOM supports the hydro industry in developing, testing, and improving their product at the national, regional, and international level.

HPNET consists of practitioners with various backgrounds from public sector, private companies, and grassroots organisations.The gathering was attended by 34 practitioners from 11 countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand), making it one of the most international and diverse MHP-dedicated gatherings in Indonesia in many years. Site visits to mhp installations and electromechanical component manufacturers allowed participants to see closely how the industry has grown in Indonesia. These visits also served to excite participants’ ambitions in their home countries.

As part of the agenda, intense discussion sessions were organized to refresh the Network’s vision and working plan for the coming year and beyond. Technology transfer, knowledge sharing, and policy advising remain some of the main focus areas adopted by HPNET, but the importance of community involvement and local capacity building received special emphasis.

HPNET emphasizes overall sustainability by putting community empowerment as the core, ultimate goal. Forest and water conservation, productive use of energy, as well as technology innovation also will be strongly pursued by the Network, which has agreed that joint collaborations on transnational MHP initiatives are a vital mechanism to maintain and enhance the momentum of MHP development.

Gerhard Fischer, the holistic expert behind HYCOM, with over 30 years of experience in MHP development, thought the event to be very beneficial for all participants: “I am quite convinced that for these small power plants – maybe up to 100kW – the knowhow should be there where the site is. It should be accessible for the villages. That’s why the success of these things in Nepal, Indonesia, and other countries like Pakistan is connected with the local fabrication of the equipment. We need networking. Each country has its own development. To look what is working where and to coordinate this knowhow and to make it available is a very important thing.”

Fischer went on to explain the value of HPNET in linking institutions with similar targets. “We should work together,” Fischer added, “and also take seriously into account what others have done to develop the technology.”

By HPNET members Amalia Suryani (EnDev Indonesia) and Patrick Pawletko (Tonibung)