EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL ENERGY OF LODAGUNG MINI-HYDROPOWER PLANT IN BLITAR, WEST JAVA, INDONESIA

Renewable energy in Indonesia is not optimally developed. Most existing renewable energy power plants come from water and geothermal, but the utilized capacity is far away from signifi cant. Lodagung mini-hydro power plant was built by The Public Corporation, Jasa Tirta I with an installed capacity of 2x650 kW utilizing water from the Lodagung Irrigation Channel, Wlingi Dam to generate electricity in Blitar Regency, East Java. The plant has become the fi rst to use Siphon technology in its operation. This study aims to analyse the potential power generated by Lodagung Mini-hydropower plant using primary and secondary data. The data processing was done by calculating the reliable discharge of the irrigation channel for three years since 2011 to 2013; calculating the water discharge in the siphon pipe; and calculating the estimated power generated by the plant. The fi ndings indicate that the maximum discharge of the Lodagung irrigation channel is 13.78 m3/second, and the minimum discharge is 8.89 m3/second. The design discharge is 13.78 m3/second, and the maximum discharge in the siphon pipe is 3.96 m3/second/pipe. Based on the need, the expected power generated ranges from 16.48 kWh/day to 28.66 kWh/day.


INTRODUCTION
Indonesia has enormous potential electrical energy sources that can be developed as renewable energy such as air, solar, biomass, wind and geothermal energy. However, the potential sources have not been optimally used. The potential electrical energy that can be generated from renewable energy could produce 432 GW One possible solution to provide electricity in rural areas is by utilizing local energy sources through hydropower.
Utilization of hydropower is also a part of the development of renewable energy, on a small scale such as Mini-hydropower plants.

One of Mini-hydropower plants is
Lodagung which is located in Blitar, East Java. It was built by the Public Corporation, Jasa Tirta I with an installed capacity of 2x650 kW utilizing water from the Lodagung Irrigation Channel, Wlingi Dam. It has been operating since 2018 (Riady, 2018 (Dwiyanto et al., 2016;Anggraini et al., 2018;Pranoto et al., 2018;Dewi, 2020).
The potential analysis for electric power generated by Lodagung mini-hydro power plant is still signifi cant. It is because the shallow development of renewable energy in Indonesia and the studies conducted will contribute to the further development of mini-hydro power in various parts of Indonesia and increase the electrifi cation ratio, especially in the rural areas.
Mini-hydropower plant is a small-scale power plant with the energy capacity less than 100 kW (Dwiyanto dkk., 2016). The working system of mini hydropower as follows. The fl ow of the water will produce kinetic energy.
The kinetic energy of the fl owing water will rotate the turbine propeller to convert the kinetic energy into mechanical energy. The turbine rotates the generator rotor which then converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy (Penche, 1998). The fi rst hydroelectric power plant was developed in the 1880s (Nasir, 2013). Mini-hydropower plant is chosen since its low cost, small in size, easy to build in remote areas and the ability to serve people who are usually unable to be served by large state-owned or private power companies (Nasir, 2013). Besides, the construction of Mini-hydropower plants does not damage the environment as caused by large-scale power plants.
Generally, there are four essential components of Mini-hydropower plants.
The components are designed to fl ow water to the turbine. Water turbines is used to convert water energy to rotate the generator shaft; a drive system is aimed to transmit power from the turbine to the generator shaft; a generator to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy; and a control system (Harvey et al., 1993).
The working principle is to utilize potential energy from fl owing water. The water is piped to the powerhouse in order to power the turbines. The rotation of the turbine shaft converts mechanical energy into electrical energy through a generator.
The Mini-hydropower plant is usually built by diverting the water fl ow to one side of the river and then dropping it back into the same river to obtain the height of the waterfall.
Todays, the potential energy changes into kinetic energy. The fl owing water will hit and rotate the turbines in the powerhouse and convert kinetic energy into mechanical energy. The rotation of the turbine will drive a generator that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy (Maali, 2017).

CONCLUSION
The fi ndings from this study indicate that the maximum discharge of the Lodagung irrigation channel is 13.78 m 3 / Exploring The Potential Energy (Susilowati, E. & Ruritan, R. V.)

Figure 1
Design of Lodagung Siphon Pipe