12:30 - 20 Oct 2014

Vestas and Danish government announce support for island project in Indonesia

Today, at the Global Green Growth Forum in Copenhagen, Vestas and the Danish government announced their support of a wind project at the Sumba Island in Indonesia. The project will be part of Vestas' Wind for Prosperity program and is endorsed by the Indonesian government.

Indonesia consists of thousands of islands - hundreds of which are permanently inhabited. Due to the relatively small population on some of them, electricity production is often based solely on diesel generators and as such both costly and polluting.

The Sumba Island has set an ambitious goal to reach 100 % renewable energy by 2025 and therefore need to exploit the wind resources. Through its Wind for Prosperity programme, Vestas will supply a refurbished V47-660kW turbine and Danish government development programme, Danida, will fund the viability gap in the pilot project.

"We are honored to take part in the ambition to supply the Sumba Island with 100 % renewable energy. This is an important quest, as it has the potential to lead the way for countless islands in Indonesia and elsewhere by showing how wind can deliver affordable electricity in rural areas in a sustainable manner," says Morten Albæk, GSVP at Vestas and initiator of Wind for Prosperity.

Vestas' Wind for Prosperity programme is bringing affordable, decentralized hybrid-solutions to rural areas to reduce energy poverty and decrease CO2 emissions. The Sumba Island wind pilot project will be supported by Danida.

Danish Minister for Trade & Development Cooperation Mogens Jensen says: "We are facing the great challenge on finding a way to provide the world's poorest with electricity. This calls for innovative solutions and new partnerships between governments and private companies. Development assistance plays an important role in order to create growth in development countries, and I hope that the inhabitants on Sumba Island will benefit from this pilot project by gaining access to green energy and hereby inspiring other Indonesian Islands. To the benefit of the Indonesian people, the climate and eventually employment in Denmark. We hope to spread such solutions to other rural parts of the world through 3GF."

The Indonesian government is pleased with the support from Vestas and Danida.

"I would like to express our highest appreciation and thanks to the Government of Denmark and Vestas for support to Indonesia to develop our renewable energy sector", said Mrs. Maritje Hutape, Director Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. "The wind project can be used as lesson learnt for developing other renewable energy resource, not only at Sumba Island but also at national level.

At the end, increasing access to sustainable energy will bring more prosperity and welfare to the people."

For more facts about the project, please see below fact sheet or contact

Press & Communication Officer Lina Danstrup,
Media & External Relations
Tel: +45 61 26 99 87
Mail: limat@vestas.com

About the project
Iconic Island Sumba

  • Sumba Island is located in the eastern part of the Indonesian Archipelago between Sumbawa Island to the Northwest, West Timor to the East and Australia to the far South at a distance of about 700 km
  • The island has a population of 656,259 inhabitants and one of the lowest electrification rates in Indonesia (24.55%). 495,147 people without access or limited access to power.
  • Around 20% of the people living in Indonesia have no or limited access to electricity - 48.5m people.
  • The Iconic Island Sumba initiative was launched in 2009 in coordination with the Dutch organization HIVOS to showcase how the people of a poor, isolated island can take charge of their own development - aided by a supply of 100% renewable energy
  • Among other renewable energy projects, the Iconic Island Sumba program initiated feasibility and early stage development of the Hambapraing wind project


Hambapraing Wind Project on Sumba Island
  • The Hambapraing wind project is under development by PT Sumberdaya Sewatama in coordination with the Indonesia Government and Indonesia's state electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).
  • The project will be installed by near the north coast of Sumba in Hambapraing, approximately 25 km northeast of Waingapu
  • The project will initially consist of a pilot installation of one refurbished Vestas V47-660 KW wind turbine, with plans to plans to scale-up to 3-4 MW once reliable integration with the island's grid is proven
  • The wind turbine will provide more than 1.6 GWh of clean, reliable electricity per year without the need to exhaust natural resources, including water. 
  • The addition of wind power to Sumba's grid will reduce diesel fuel use by more than 500,000 liters per year, providing both costs savings and environmental benefits through saving approx. 1,000 ton of Co2 per year 
  • The pilot wind turbine and subsequent scale-up will strengthen the local infrastructure while transferring knowledge to local developers and suppliers. 
  • Installation is targeted by second half 2015
  • Total height of the turbines is approximately 80 meters 
  • The turbines have a rotor diameter of 47 meters
  • The turbines have a total capacity of 660 kilowatts 
  • The project is targeted to reach commissioning by Q3 2015
Danida Involvement
  • The Hambapraing project will be supported by Denmark through the Danida programme in Indonesia to fund the viability gap
  • Without the support from Danida and other development partners, the project would not be able to take off and the Danida grant will be crucial to begin a virtuous cycle of scaling up wind power in Indonesia

About wind for Prosperity
Wind for Prosperity is an innovative, commercially-based model to bring affordable and reliable electricity to rural and island populations that currently lack it. Upwards of 1.3 billion people across the globe currently lack access to affordable and reliable electricity - with dramatic consequences for human health, education, and economic well-being.

A considerable share of these people live in rural areas far from grid-infrastructure, but at least 50 million live in areas with abundant wind resources.

About Vestas
Every single day, Vestas wind turbines deliver clean energy that supports the global fight against climate change. Wind power from Vestas' more than 52,000 wind turbines currently reduces carbon emissions by over 60 million tons of CO2 every year, while at the same time building energy security and independence.

Vestas has delivered wind energy in 73 countries, providing jobs for around 17,500 passionate people at our service and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all over the world. With 52 per cent more megawatts installed than our closest competitor and more than 60 GW of cumulative installed capacity worldwide, Vestas is the world leader in wind energy.

We invite you to learn more about Vestas by visiting our website at www.vestas.com and following us on our social media channels: 

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