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 (PME) was incorporated in early 2011 by Mr. Komarudin, an electrical engineer with a strong background in renewable energy, and a passion for small-scale hydropower, cultivated over 15 years. Previously, Mr. Komarudin worked with Entec AG, a Swiss consulting and engineering company specialized in small hydropower. Experienced with worldwide projects in technology transfer, he has provided assistance in developing countries, especially in crossflow turbine (T14/T15) and controller technology. |  Mr. Komarudin and the PME team. Credit: PME, 2021. |
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.
Our ELCs are being used in more than 900 micro hydro sites in 5 continents and more than 30 countries worldwide, with a projected total installed capacity of about 10MW by the end of 2021. Our projects are mostly financed by donors, government agencies or the private sector, as off-grid renewable energy projects for rural development.
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!
