Kendal, Directorate General of Vocational Education – Innovation of vocational colleges presents a solution. Through the Vocational Matching Fund program, Politeknik Negeri Semarang (Polines) presents a Micro Hydro Power Plant (PLTMH) for Surokonto Village, Pageruyung District, Kendal, Central Java to answer the problem of limited electricity in the village.
The development of this PLTMH is based on the potential of abundant water resources in Surokonto Village. On the other hand, this village still has limited electricity, where at night the village roads are not equipped with street lights.
Seeing this condition, the team of lecturers from Polines led by Suwarti and several other lecturers, including Yusuf Dewantoro Herlambang, Abdul Syukur, Baktiyar Mei Hermawan, Bono, Gatot Suwoto, F Gatot Sumarno, and Marliyati then tried to develop innovation as a solution to overcome this problem. Collaborating with the village and the Village-Owned Enterprise (Bumdes), the Polines team of lecturers then developed a Micro Hydro Power Plant.
"The development of the PLTMH began with Community Service activities which were then perfected through the 2023 Matching Fund program," said Yusuf Dewantoro Herlambang as a member of the 2023 Vocational Matching Fund team for PLTMH.
In addition to developing PLTMH, the Polines lecturer team also provided assistance regarding the use of Microhydro water wheels for the people of Surokonto Wetan Village, including training and assistance. preventive and maintenance Microhydro system as PLTMH.
PLTMH itself is a small-scale generator that uses water power as its driving force such as irrigation channels, rivers or natural waterfalls by utilizing the height of the waterfall and the amount of water discharge. The main component in this technology is water which is a source of power to generate electricity with the principle of rotating a turbine with a generator and generating electricity.
"The PLTMH that we are developing has a capacity of 10 kW which is used for electrification and integrated business development in Surokonto Wetan Village, Kendal Regency. This technology is in the form of a turbine, generator, and power house which is then installed with a 550 m electricity network with 22 poles along with street lights," Yusuf added.
The presence of this PLTMH is greatly felt by the people of Surokonto Wetan Village. In addition to being a source of electricity to light the road, in the future, the existence of this PLTMH will be utilized by residents to develop the tourism sector in the village.
"The presence of this PLTMH provides a sense of comfort for the villagers because with the presence of street lighting it can provide a psychological impact on anyone who passes the road being noticed and monitored," said Rasyono, Head of Surokonto Wetan Village. (Polines/Nan/Cecep)
Source: vocational.kemdikbud.go.id