MSc Sustainable Energy Engineering — KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Engineering the grid
that powers tomorrow.

Ardian Candra — power system automation & sustainable energy engineer. 13+ years keeping Indonesia's islands electrified at PT PLN. Now modelling the PV + storage systems of the energy transition.

Stockholm · Jakarta EN / ID
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Years of experience
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Annual savings delivered
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t CO₂ / year reduced
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Peak OPS load handled

01 — About

From island grids
to the energy transition.

I spent over a decade at PT PLN Indonesia — building SCADA and distribution automation from the ground up, leading planning for isolated island systems across the Riau archipelago, and delivering projects measured in millions of euros saved and thousands of tonnes of CO₂ avoided.

In 2024 I earned a Swedish Institute Scholarship to pursue an MSc in Sustainable Energy Engineering at KTH in Stockholm, completed in 2026 with a weighted average of 4.45/5.0. My thesis — developed with Smålandshamnar AB and Oskarshamn Energi — sized a PV, battery storage, and shore-power system for Oskarshamn Harbour using MILP dispatch optimisation and genetic algorithms.

Today I work at the intersection of both worlds: deep operational knowledge of real grids, and state-of-the-art modelling of solar, storage, and hybrid energy systems.

02 — Experience

Professional timeline.

Aug 2024 – Aug 2026 · Completed

MSc Sustainable Energy Engineering — KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm

Graduated with a weighted average of 4.45/5.0 across 90 ECTS. Grade A in AI in Energy, Optimisation of Energy Networks, Energy Storage Technology, Modeling of Energy Systems, Large Scale Solar Power, and Energy Management.

Thesis (defended 2026): Sustainable Energy System Sizing for Oskarshamn Harbour — PV, BESS, and Shore Power Integration, in collaboration with Smålandshamnar AB and Oskarshamn Energi. Built a Pyomo MILP dispatch optimiser with rolling-horizon scheduling and a DEAP genetic algorithm for component sizing; multi-objective Pareto optimisation across NPV, emissions, and self-sufficiency; compared LFP, sodium-ion, and vanadium-redox-flow chemistries using PNNL-style decomposed CAPEX.

KTHMScThesisStockholm
2025

Research Projects — KTH

Hotel thermal energy storage (MILP + GA sizing); wind integration with adiabatic compressed-air energy storage (A-CAES, Gotland case study); PV power-output forecasting with deep neural networks.

MILPA-CAESPV ForecastingDNN
2024

Swedish Institute Scholarship (SI Scholarship for Global Professionals)

Full MSc scholarship awarded to approximately 2% of applicants worldwide. Also received the Best Proposal award for Smart & Sustainable Kigali 2030 — presented at the 2nd Nordic–Baltic Forum in Rwanda.

ScholarshipTop 2%
Aug 2023 – Jul 2024

Head of Planning Department — PT PLN Indonesia

Led generation expansion and distribution planning for Riau Islands isolated systems across 19 islands. Feasibility studies for submarine cables and hybrid solar PV on 87 remote islands. Initiated the wave-energy pilot at Natuna Island.

Generation PlanningIsland SystemsFeasibility Studies
Mar 2017 – Jul 2023

Head of SCADA & Telecom — PT PLN Riau DCC

Built the distribution management system from the ground up — FLISR and self-healing smart-feeder schemes across 109 substations and 680 pole-mounted circuit breakers (IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5-104, DNP3, Modbus). Key project: the Batam–Sambu submarine cable interconnection, delivering ~€3.4M/year in savings and ~1,090 t CO₂/year reduction.

DMSFLISRIEC 61850Submarine Cable
Jan 2011 – Feb 2017

SCADA Engineer — PT PLN Pekanbaru

Maintained RTUs, gateways, and protection IEDs (Schneider Micom, GE Multilin, Siemens SIprotec) across the Riau distribution grid. Commissioned a 250 kW off-grid solar plant at Moro Island — the area's first distributed PV with autonomous island operation.

SCADAProtection IEDsOff-grid PV
Sep 2006 – Feb 2010

BEng Engineering Physics — ITS Surabaya

GPA 3.41/4.00. Concentrations in control & automation, energy conversion, and semiconductor materials. Thesis: ANFIS for maritime weather prediction — early neural-network modelling on real-world sensor data.

ITS SurabayaANFIS

03 — Research & Projects

Selected work.

Grid Infrastructure

Batam–Sambu Submarine Cable Interconnection

Key project as Head of SCADA & Telecom: interconnecting Batam and Sambu via submarine cable — delivering approximately €3.4M/year in savings and ~1,090 t CO₂/year reduction.

Submarine CableInterconnection

Off-grid Solar

Moro Island 250 kW Solar Plant

Commissioned the area's first distributed PV system — a 250 kW off-grid plant with autonomous island-mode operation.

Off-grid PVIsland Mode

KTH Research

Storage, Wind & Forecasting Studies

Hotel thermal energy storage (MILP + GA sizing); wind integration with adiabatic compressed-air energy storage — A-CAES, Gotland case study; PV power-output forecasting with deep neural networks.

TESA-CAESPV Forecasting

Island Electrification Planning

Riau Islands: 87 Remote Islands

Feasibility studies for submarine cables and hybrid solar PV across 87 remote islands; initiated the wave-energy pilot at Natuna Island.

FeasibilityHybrid PVWave Energy

04 — Skills

Tools of the trade.

Power Systems & Grid

Distribution AutomationFLISRSelf-Healing FeederProtection CoordinationSchneider MicomGE MultilinSiemens SIprotecLoad-Flow AnalysispandapowerETAPMicrogrid DesignIsland-Mode OperationDER Integration

SCADA & Communications

DMS Design & CommissioningIEC 61850IEC 60870-5-104DNP3ModbusRTU / BCU / GatewaySurvalent DMSSQL Server ReplicationMototrboMDS GERipex-RacomSatelOmicronAse2000

Optimisation & Modelling

PyomoPuLPMILPRolling-Horizon SchedulingDEAPGenetic AlgorithmMulti-Objective ParetoMonte CarloBattery Degradation (FEC)PNNL CAPEX Model

Data-Driven Methods & AI

PyTorchTensorFlowDeep Neural NetworksANFISPV ForecastingFeature EngineeringpandasNumPySciPyMatplotlib

Energy System Tools

HOMER ProOSeMOSYSHelioScope 3DPySAMPNNL ESGC DatabaseENTSO-E / entsoe-pyLFP · Na-ion · VRFB

Software & Policy

PythonSQL & SQL ServerGit & GitHubLaTeXPower BIPHPFlutterIMO GHGEU ETS MaritimeEU Green DealFossil-Free 2045SE3

05 — Consulting

Hire me for your
next project.

I help solar developers, EPCs, and investors de-risk projects with rigorous, decision-ready energy modelling — delivered as consulting-grade reports you can defend to banks and boards.

PV Yield Assessment

Hourly simulation (8,760 data points/year) with site-specific TMY weather data — not spreadsheet estimates. Annual and monthly yield, capacity factor, and clear-sky vs. cloudy-day analysis.

  • NREL PySAM / PVWatts modelling
  • Consulting-grade PDF report + hourly CSV data
  • Transparent, auditable assumptions

Battery Sizing & Dispatch

Right-size behind-the-meter storage and prove the dispatch strategy before you buy hardware. SoC-aware usable capacity — no nameplate illusions.

  • Optimal kW / kWh sizing
  • Retail-rate & peak-shaving dispatch strategies
  • Degradation-aware lifetime view

Techno-Economic Analysis

Full project economics for investment decisions: NPV, IRR, payback period, and LCOE — with sensitivity analysis on the variables that actually move the needle.

  • NPV · IRR · Payback · LCOE
  • Tariff, CAPEX & degradation sensitivities
  • Executive summary for non-technical decision makers
1

Share your site & goals. Location, system size, and what decision the analysis must support.

2

I model & analyse. Hourly simulation, sizing optimisation, and economics — with assumptions documented.

3

You get answers. A decision-ready report plus a walkthrough call. One revision round included.

Thesis Spotlight

Sustainable energy for
Oskarshamn Harbour.

My MSc thesis sized a harbour energy system integrating offshore wind, solar PV, battery storage (BESS) and onshore power supply (OPS) for berthed vessels — optimised across cost, emissions and self-sufficiency.

+ + + + BESS OPS
Harbour energy concept — wind · solar PV · BESS · shore power (OPS) · live animation

06 — Contact

Let's build
something electrifying.

Open to consulting engagements, research collaboration, and roles in sustainable energy.

📍 Stockholm · Jakarta  ·  Working worldwide, remotely