East Sumba Regency, located in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), offers a starkly different atmosphere from the usual hustle and bustle of major cities. There is almost no sound of honking horns or clouds of pollution from congested traffic. Tanau Hill welcomes visitors with a serene stillness, accompanied by a cool breeze and vast savannas turning lush green after a light drizzle. The sun rarely misses a day, illuminating the beauty as far as the eye can see.
The island of Sumba is so rich in sunlight that its solar energy potential must be harnessed as an alternative energy source to support the energy needs of rural villages.
Solar Energy Potential Map of East Nusa Tenggara
Source: World Bank Group
East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) possesses highly promising solar energy potential, with a land area reaching 11,244 $km^2$. This region offers a stable solar radiation profile, making it an ideal location for the development of both domestic and large-scale solar panel systems. Technically, in NTT, a single solar panel can produce 4.4 to 4.9 units (kWh) of electricity per day. To put it into perspective, one day’s “sun harvest” is enough to power a 480-Watt air conditioner for 8 hours or run a refrigerator all day long for free.
Almost the entire NTT region is bathed in intense and consistent sunlight daily. These conditions allow a large-scale solar farm to produce 1 MWh of clean electricity annually. Over a year, such a large-scale installation can continuously power approximately 1,000 to 1,500 modest households.
Solar Energy Potential Map of East Nusa Tenggara – Mbatapuhu
Source: Rizky Ahmad Fauzi, Alvin Arfiandi/Enter Nusantara
Unfortunately, despite the clean air and high solar exposure, water remains difficult to access for many villagers in East Sumba. There, residents are accustomed to walking long distances to fill empty jerry cans for household needs, livestock, and gardening. This lack of water access directly impacts local sanitation; cases of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), dermatitis (skin diseases), diarrhea, and cholera remain significantly high.
Access to water is a primary basic need and a crucial human right for survival, health, and daily routines. The scarcity of water also leads to a decline in nutritional intake for both adults and children, as the water required to grow vegetables and raise livestock is extremely limited.
A mother and her child rely on water flowing from a 127-meter-deep well.
Source: Alvin Arfiandi/Enter Nusantara
One of the villages we visited, Mbatapuhu in East Sumba, faces these very challenges. The obstacles are not small; to ensure a stable water supply, residents decided to drill a well 127 meters deep and install a pump to draw water from the source. Interestingly, there is a collective effort and shared will to overcome this water crisis. They rely on a solar-powered pump (Solar Pump) system, which was built in 2018 with assistance from the local government.
Today, that water is no longer hidden. It flows through a 1 km pipeline to an early childhood education center (PAUD), ensuring that the children there no longer struggle to obtain their basic right to a healthy and clean life.
Preschool building in Mbatapuhu Village, East Sumba.
Source: Alvin Arfiandi/Enter Nusantara
However, the utilization of solar energy has not been accompanied by educational programs or schools for residents to understand how to operate and maintain solar panels. Due to this lack of knowledge transfer, the well pump once ceased to function because the panels were covered in dust, preventing maximum sunlight absorption.
Renewable energy programs should not stop at construction and handover. It is essential to include educational mentorship so that residents are truly empowered to manage the technology independently and sustainably. Because clean energy is not just about functionality—it is about equitable social and economic access for the sake of the environment and a more dignified collective life.
