ITB Materials Engineering Students’ Association’s Community Service, Implementation of Electric Turbine in Rancabali

By Adi Permana

Editor Adi Permana

BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – The Bright Wind Project by the Materials Engineering Students’ Association (MESA) ITB is a program that aims to improve the livelihood of local communities, especially in the education field. The most recent project of MESA Bright Wind Team, a 1 kWh electric turbine, stood behind the Kanaan Primary, Kanaan Village, Indragiri, Rancabali Subdistrict, Regency of Bandung, West Java since December 2021.

Moreover, the team also informed about the (Computerized-Based Test) Exam for primary school students and National State University Exam for high school students. Collaborating with the study program department and business partners, they succeeded in delivering electricity to the Kanaan Primary after its absence of 39 years.

Reporters from Public Relations ITB interviewed the MESA ITB’s Bright Wind Team directly at the Kanaan Village, under the Directorate of Appreciation and Creation Team, The Coordinated Ministry of Creation and Innovation, KM ITB Cabinet. The leader of Bright Wind, Erlangga Muhammaddaffa, stated that their initial step was a location survey. The targeted outcomes of this survey are site-related data, land conditions, wind conditions, as well as power rating (kWh) needed in that location. After surveys and data collection, Kanaan Primary was chosen with a capacity of 1 kWh.

After determining the required electricity production and the optimum location for the wind power plant, MESA ITB’s Bright Wind Team subsequently designed the power plant’s layout. “The planning aims to create a specification for the wind power plant (height, turbine blade shape, structure, material, and other specifications),” explained Erlangga. The design planning was supported by business partners.

“Our business partners offered much support during the creation process. From lending us a garage workshop, manufacturing our design drawing, and even supervising and guiding students on building the power plant itself. After the power plant was made into several subassemblies, the Bright Wind Team put together the parts at the same workshop. After finishing the assembly process and the result is deemed appropriate, the team will resend the power plant parts back to Kanaan Primary for reinstallation, as manual transportation will be very challenging due to terrain conditions.”

“Thankfully, during the installation process, there is already a preexisting main cable. There was a solar power source before, sadly it was too ineffective,” expressed the President of MESA ITB, Abid Afif. The Bright Wind Team merely needs to connect the control panel to the main cable, which then will transmit electricity throughout the building of Kanaan Primary.

The Bright Wind Project will surely transform the day-to-day life of Indragiri Village’s inhabitants. “The first time we’ve succeeded in channeling electricity, the children became very happy and enthusiastic, they do workout dance to songs played from electronic devices,” expressed the Headmaster of Canaan Primary, Dede Iskandar Usman. The project radically improved learning-teaching activities in Canaan Primary facilitated with electricity.

Reporter: Yoel Enrico Meiliano (Food Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Firzana Aisya (School of Life Sciences and Technology, 2021)