Jakarta

Pertamina Learning Center

I was back in Jakarta once again in March, conducting a two-day training course at Pertamina’s Learning Center, as part of the GE/IFP instructional program. This course had 33 participants, and was definitely one of the best classes I’ve had in recent years – one group even cornered me after dinner, and we continued our discussions well into the evening.

Iskandar at IBEKA microhydro plant

This trip was especially interesting, however, because I arrived a few days early and headed up into the mountains outside Jakarta to visit IBEKA, the environmental NGO which specializes in micro-hydro applications. Ms. Tri Mumpuni was in New York, but her husband Iskandar, a geologist & mechanical/electrical engineering guru who coordinates all of the technical aspects of IBEKA’s work, was a gracious host. We drove up to see their 120 kW plant at Cinta Mekar, which was one of their early applications supported with UN ESCAP funding (you can read about the plant in a case study document, with Cinta Mekar also featured on the cover of a ‘best practices’ report); and we then stayed at their nearby training center/mountain home-base. I had seen both Puni & Iskandar in the U.S. after last year’s visit, & also had a very brief chance to see Puni when she arrived back home from New York. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to catch up with them again sometime soon – in Asia, North America, or wherever our paths cross!