In diesel-dependent Timor-Leste, renewable energy transformation…

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — East Timor is at a crossroads in energy development.

While the small Southeast Asian country (and one of the world’s youngest) has made international and domestic commitments to reduce its carbon footprint through untapped solar and other renewable energy potential, the country faces a looming economic crisis as the gas reserves on which its economy depends are close to depleting, making it difficult to cover the high costs of its energy transformation.

Access to electricity is a modern development for many of East Timor’s 1.3 million people, after much of the country’s infrastructure was destroyed by Indonesian forces during the country’s war for independence. Reconstruction has been slow since East Timor’s formal independence in 2002. By 2015, only 60% of the population had access to electricity, according to the World Bank.

Since then, efforts to electrify the country have intensified, with the International Renewable Energy Agency expecting 100% of residents to have access to electricity by 2021. Experts say transmission problems persist, resulting in regular power outages.

According to Tony Heynen, coordinator of postgraduate studies in sustainable energy at the University of Queensland in Australia, the country’s electricity is generated in highly polluting diesel-fired power stations, with small diesel-fired generators being the main alternative source of energy in remote areas.

Timor-Leste has made national and international commitments to increase its share of renewable energy generation. In 2016, it was one of almost 200 countries to sign the United Nations Paris Agreement. Its state-owned power company, Eletricidade de Timor-Leste, has updated its strategic development plan to switch from diesel to gas as fuel, while aiming for renewables to provide up to 50% of the country’s energy mix by 2030.

Renewable energy potential is strong in Timor-Leste, according to the Asian Development Bank, with almost the entire territory having the potential to generate solar power efficiently. Other renewable energy sources include hydropower, wind power and biofuels.

Developing renewable energy would help the country diversify its economy and strengthen its agricultural sector, according to Charles Scheiner, a researcher with the East Timorese nongovernmental organization La’o Hamutuk. Seventy percent of families rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, according to a report by the World Bank and ADB.

“Reliable energy, including electricity, would greatly improve people’s daily lives,” Scheiner wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

“Renewable, distributed energy sources are the most reliable way to deliver energy,” he said, noting the potential for developing smaller solar grids or homes with individual solar panels across the country.

But transforming energy production and/or building new energy sources is expensive, and Timor-Leste faces significant financial challenges as gas reserves that account for most of its gross domestic product are close to being depleted, said Michael Leach, a professor at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.

“There is a concern that around 2035 (the government) will run out of money if it continues to spend at the rate it is currently spending,” Leach said.

East Timor’s current power plants, built in recent decades with major investments by the government, can produce much more electricity than the country needs, reducing the need to change the energy system, Heynen said.

Still, the Timor-Leste government has expressed interest in transforming its energy sector. In 2020, it hired energy consultants to conduct a feasibility study on supplying natural gas to three power plants. In 2021, it announced a tender for solar parks and a feasibility study for hydropower projects.

However, Scheiner said, these arrangements have not been implemented.

AP’s interview requests to EDTL Empresa Publica, the minister of planning and strategic investments and the secretary of state for electricity, water and sanitation went unanswered.

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta has appealed to the international community to support the country’s energy transformation, citing its vulnerability to climate change.

“Small nations like East Timor cannot address this existential challenge alone,” he said during a climate change lecture in March, using another formal name for East Timor. “We need enhanced international cooperation, technology transfer, capacity-building and financial support to increase resilience, drive mitigation efforts and adapt to inevitable future impacts.”

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