Strengthening the Solar Energy Narrative

Jakarta, 9 March 2023 – Solar energy has the potential to be developed massively in Indonesia. The Institute for Essential Services Reform in its report entitled “Beyond 207GW” states that the technical potential of solar energy in Indonesia reaches 20,000 GW. Unfortunately, the use of solar energy is still minimal. It is noted that the installed capacity of new solar energy is around 270.3 MW until 2022.

In the talk show “Bincang Energi Surya”, the collaboration of six institutions namely the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), Solar Scholars Indonesia (SSI), the Indonesian Student Association (PPI) Australia, the Korean Indonesian Research Association (APIK), the New Generation Solar Energy Institute (Insygnia) ), and Solarin, Anindita Satria Surya, Vice President of Energy Transition and Climate Change of PT PLN stated that the development of solar energy is very necessary for the development of renewable energy.

“The description of the JETP scenario is first, building a large baseload such as hydropower, second, building a strong transmission network, and third, building supporting plants such as PLTS,” he explained, explaining the big picture of PLN’s plans to build renewable energy generators in the next few years.

In addition to a comprehensive investment plan for implementing the Just Energy Transition Partnership program, the development of renewable energy generators is also guided by the RUPTL. In the 2021-2030 RUPTL, it is planned that Indonesia will have more than 50% of the energy used come from renewable energy sources. Solar energy itself is planned to increase by 4.6 GW until 2030.

Widi Nugroho, Sub-Coordinator of Supervision of Various New and Renewable Energy Businesses, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources emphasized that to pursue the target of a renewable energy mix of 23% by 2025, fulfillment will be prioritized with solar energy.

“For the development of NRE generators, priority is given according to the 2021-2030 RUPTL where solar will increase by 4.6 GW in 2030,” he explained.

Based on the government’s plan, solar energy will be the main pillar of Indonesia’s electricity system with a capacity of 461 GW in 2060. As Indonesia receives the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) funding, it opens up various funding opportunities for renewable energy projects and technology research.

On the same occasion, Muhamad Rosyid Jazuli, Policy Researcher, Paramadina Public Policy Institute, stated that currently there is one main challenge from the policy side, namely the accumulation of a number of commitments that are not accompanied by derivative regulations so that progress towards achieving the promised commitments does not run smoothly.

“The high dominance of coal in Indonesia’s electricity system and the price of coal which is considered relatively cheaper is one of the challenges in developing renewable energy, especially solar,” explained Rosyid.

Rosyid also added that in addition to policies, public perceptions need to be developed in relation to renewable energy and low-carbon technologies so that behavior changes can occur. At present, renewable energy or other low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicles or rooftop PV, have not become the people’s first choice. Limited information related to technology and prices that are still relatively expensive are some of the aggravating factors in society.

Bincang Energy Surya is a series of public dissemination events about solar energy. Solar energy thematic dissemination will be held regularly, every two weeks until June 2023, covering topics; Indonesia’s solar energy landscape, current policies, technology, industry, socio-economic and human resource readiness to support the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and Net Zero Emission (NZE) targets.

Driving Solar Energy Development through Gerilya

Jakarta, 1 March 2023 – The energy transition requires the participation of all parties to make it happen. The education sector is predicted to be one of the strategic pillars to ensure that there are high quality experts and technicians who are ready to take part in the realm of renewable energy development.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Rida Mulyana reminded the importance of energy transition and the use of solar energy.

“Currently, our electricity is 86% coming from fossil energy, and one day it will run out. With the energy transition, we want the quality of national energy security to increase, no longer depending on fossil energy. We have renewable energy sources, and they are abundant. This means that if we want the transition from fossil to non-fossil, the sources already exist,” said Rida at the launch of the Gerilya program, Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Rida also added that the second urgent reason is global pressure on climate change mitigation. Weather is hard to predict, even in a tropical country like Indonesia. That is, because of global warming, due to the increasing amount of GHG emissions which then makes the earth’s temperature rise, not only does sea level rise, but the weather is also unpredictable, and that is already happening.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources specifically formed GERILYA (Solar Electricity Initiative Movement) as part of the Certified Independent Study and Internship Program (MSIB) as a result of the collaboration between the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka, Ministry of Education and Culture-Research and Technology

In the GERIYA program, students are placed in various institutions and companies engaged in various aspects of solar energy development. In his remarks on the same occasion, Director of Various Energy and EBT, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Andriyah Feby Misna stated that energy transition efforts in Indonesia need to be balanced with the availability of competent and qualified human resources.

“For this reason, the Gerilya program continues to improve itself by improving the solar energy curriculum and re-joining the fourth batch of MSIB,” explained Feby.

The intended curriculum improvement includes, among other things, the background of the participants, which initially only came from STEM majors, but now students majoring in social and humanities can join them. The time for students to be involved in projects was also extended to four months and the briefing time was shortened to one month.

A total of 2,456 applicants from 280 universities throughout Indonesia were selected, with the result that 62 students from 34 universities were declared to have passed the GERILYA selection stage. Of the number of students who passed the selection stage, 24 people or 38% of them were women. This is a form of commitment to gender equality in the implementation of the MSIB Gerilya Batch 4 program.

 

The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) has supported the Gerilya program since its first batch and provided a place for students to learn about policy changes related to solar energy development from the perspective of civil society through scientific studies. In batch 4, IESR will host four Gerilya students.

IEVO 2023: Reviewing Indonesia’s Electric Vehicle Ecosystem

Jakarta, 21 February 2023 – The transportation sector contributes almost a quarter of the energy sector’s emissions in 2021. Most of the transportation sector’s emissions come from fuel, of which 52% comes from imported fuel. Given the Indonesian government’s target of achieving net-zero emission status by 2060 or sooner, it is important to decarbonize the transportation sector.

Adapting the ASI approach, i.e: Avoid – Shift – Improve, the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) is looking at one of the decarbonization strategies for the transportation sector, namely electric vehicles. Explained by Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of IESR during the launch report of the Indonesia Electric Vehicle Outlook 2023, that the number of electric vehicles in Indonesia has continued to increase in the last 5 years, but the market share is still low.

“However, the electric vehicle market share is only 1% of total vehicle sales in Indonesia per year. Several factors still make potential buyers reluctant, such as the high initial price, and supporting ecosystems such as charging stations which are still limited in number,” he explained.

As one of the supporting ecosystems for electric vehicles, charging stations, both Public Charging Stations (SPKLU) and Public Battery Swapping Stations (SPBKLU) have an important role in accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles. Psychologically, the number of charging stations influences the decision of potential EV consumers.

“In numbers, the number of SPKLUs actually continues to grow. But currently it is still concentrated in Java and Bali. Only 12% of SPKLU are located outside Java – Bali,” explained Faris Adnan, IESR Power System researcher.

In addition to the number of charging stations, Faris stated a few more things, including the type of charging system, which currently most of the SPKLU is slow charging type one. It is necessary to look for a comprehensive location to determine the type of charging used. Office areas and shopping centers where people will stay around can use medium or slow charging. However, for places such as public charging on roads, it must use the fast-charging type.

Standardization of charging ports is also one of the discussions in this report. Faris explained that currently there are 3 types of charging ports for four-wheeled electric vehicles. This is one of the obstacles for prospective SPKLU investors because the obligation to provide these three types of ports has an impact on the investment capital that must be provided.

“If the government manages to standardize port charging, the investment value for SPKLU will be more attractive,” explained Faris.

Ilham Fahreza Surya, IESR environmental policy researcher, who is also the author of IEVO 2023 added that the government’s discourse to provide price incentives for electric vehicles should focus specifically on public transportation, logistics vehicles, and two-wheeled vehicles.

“We recommend that the government give priority to two-wheeled vehicles to get incentives to cut prices, and also combine this incentive plan with TKDN rules. So those who are entitled to receive incentives are motorbikes that come from manufacturers who have complied with TKDN regulations,” explained Ilham.

From an industrial standpoint, electric vehicle assembly is the most advanced industry compared to the other supporting electric vehicles component industry. One of the highlights is Indonesia’s plan to downstream nickel into batteries.

Pintoko Aji, IESR’s renewable energy researcher, sees that the Indonesian government’s plan can be utilized by the electric vehicle industry that intends to operate a factory in Indonesia.

“With the existence of a domestic battery industry, domestic electric vehicle manufacturers can use domestically produced batteries in their vehicles as a strategy for fulfilling TKDN components,” explained Pintoko.

In a panel discussion following the presentation of the Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook 2023 report, Wildan Fujiansah, Coordinator of Electricity Technical Feasibility, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources explained that, to answer several issues in the provision of electric vehicle ecosystems in Indonesia, they issued a MEMR ministerial regulation No.1/2023 which regulates one of them regarding standardization charging port, power and battery size.

“Ministerial Regulation No. 1/2023 also regulates SPKLU investment, which previously had to provide 3 charging ports, now only 1 is enough. One of the objectives of this regulation is indeed to boost SPKLU investment,” explained Wildan.

Riza, Senior Researcher for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, BRIN stated that from a technical point of view the electric vehicle charging process is not just a device with a certain technology.

“In its development, the charging process must match the battery features while the EV continues to develop, “said Riza.

From the user side, two-wheeled electric vehicles are currently widely used by ride hailing companies for their driver partners. However, to increase the confidence of potential users to switch to using electric vehicles, the number of supporting infrastructure, especially battery swapping stations, needs to be increased.

Rivana Mezaya, Director of Digital and Sustainability Grab Indonesia emphasized that from an industrial point of view, electric vehicle users can explore various efforts to own electric vehicle units, but support is needed regarding the availability of supporting infrastructure such as battery swapping stations.

“This collaboration with various parties will encourage the general public to be able to take part in the energy transition in Indonesia,” said Meza.

In addition to collaboration to create an ecosystem that supports electric vehicles from upstream to downstream, dissemination of comprehensive, easily accessible and discoverable information is very important to encourage changes in people’s behavior. This was said by Indira Darmoyono, Chairperson of the Environmental and Energy Transportation Forum, Indonesian Transportation Society.

“Good practices in using electric vehicles and important information such as where conversion workshops are certified, conversion costs, incentives in various forms must be widely publicized so that people have sufficient information and are motivated to switch to electric vehicles,” concluded Indira.

The Indonesia Electric Vehicle Outlook report is one of the main IESR reports, and can be read through https://iesr.or.id/pustaka/indonesia-electric-vehicle-outlook-ievo-2023 

Time Moves On, Has Indonesia’s Energy Transition Moved Forward?

Indonesia’s energy transition journey is entering a critical period considering that the available time is getting shorter. Indonesia’s closest target is to achieve 23% of the renewable energy mix by 2025. Meanwhile, the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) agreement committed at the 2022 G20 Summit targets 34% of renewable energy by 2030.

In this increasingly shorter time span, the progress of the energy transition in Indonesia is unfortunately still stagnant. The Transition Readiness Framework developed by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) since 2020 records that in 2022 there are no significant developments in various energy transition sectors in Indonesia. Political commitment and energy transition policies, as well as the investment climate for renewable energy plants are in the low category. This can be interpreted as a challenge in the development of renewable energy as well as a factor that needs to be considered so that Indonesia does not fail to achieve its targets.

It is undeniable that there is an increase in the installed capacity of renewable energy every year. However, this additional capacity is not fast enough to meet Indonesia’s renewable energy capacity targets in an effort to limit the increase in the average global temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Why is it important for Indonesia to achieve its renewable energy targets? Indonesia is included in the top ten largest emitting countries in the world. Thus, Indonesia has a responsibility to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions significantly. Indonesia’s emissions are dominated by two sectors, namely land use change and the energy sector.

From the energy sector, emissions can be reduced drastically by focusing on the electricity sector by increasing the share of renewable energy generation and switching to electric systems (electrification) for vehicles and industry.

The Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook 2023 sees an opportunity to add renewable energy capacity in 2023. The existence of international assistance to reduce emissions, especially from the energy sector, must be a catalyst for accelerating renewable energy capacity as well as a means of creating a portfolio to attract more investment for renewable energy. To achieve net zero emissions status by 2050, Indonesia needs USD 25-30 million annually.

Systematic changes to improve the investment climate are needed. According to renewable energy developers, there are at least three points that need to be improved, namely the need for FiT (Fit in Tariff), fiscal incentives, and soft loans.

The Long Way to Change Indonesia’s Energy Policy

(Jakarta, 20 December 2022) – The development of renewable energy in Indonesia is still very slow. Solar energy for example, data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources notes that the potential for solar energy in Indonesia reaches 3300 GW. However, its utilization is still less than 1% of the existing potential.

Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) and Chairman of the Indonesian Solar Energy Association (AESI) at the Inspirational Talks: Renewable Energy, Our Future organized by RESD and the Mentari Program (20/12) said there were a number of factors which currently hampers the development of renewable energy in Indonesia.

“Reducing the shares of fossil energy is not easy because there is a perception that fossil energy is more reliable and renewable energy such as solar and wind is not always available (intermittent). This makes renewable energy as the second choice when planning,” said Fabby.

One of the consequences of this policy is that financial institutions are less interested in financing renewable energy projects. Thus, the development of renewable energy is also very slow at the moment.

What needs to be done is to amend planning documents and energy policies based on credible evidence or studies (evidence based). IESR through its evidence-based studies then provides recommendations to policy makers to make or change policies to transition towards a cleaner energy system.

Even though studies and research have proven that a cleaner energy system will bring more benefits to the government and society, the process of policy change often takes a long time. For this reason, qualified advocacy and communication skills are needed to oversee and urge cleaner energy policies.

Fabby said that it is important to ensure equitable, quality and clean access to energy in the community because by having access to electricity, people or communities will be more prosperous. When people have access to quality electricity, they tend to have a better standard of living because they have more ability to carry out productive activities.

In his closing remark, Fabby emphasized that renewable energy is the future of Indonesia’s and even the world’s energy system. So, it is important to prepare a workforce that is suitable for future needs, especially for prospective workforce who are currently still in school or college.

Racing in Indonesia’s Energy Transition Momentum

Jakarta, 15 December 2022 – Various global geopolitical events throughout 2022 have affected the increase in the price of fossil energy commodities. As a sector that influences and drives other sectors, the energy sector plays an important role in various aspects ranging from socio-economic to political. The global energy crisis in 2022 can be an opportunity for Indonesia to take advantage to accelerate the energy transition.

Indonesia’s energy market, which still relies heavily on subsidies, has made Indonesia feel less impacted by the global energy crisis due to soaring fossil commodity prices. However, it cannot be denied that the government’s fiscal capacity is no longer as large as the past 2-3 years considering that so many energy subsidies have been issued.

This was conveyed by Dannif Danusaputro, President Director of PT Pertamina New & Renewable Energy at the launch of the Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook 2023 report, by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), Thursday 15 December 2022.

“The increasingly narrow fiscal space will inevitably force the government to adopt unpopular policies and this can be captured as a momentum for accelerating renewable energy,” explained Dannif.

It is not only the global energy crisis that can become a momentum for accelerating renewable energy, but also the commitment to finance the energy transition in Indonesia. At the G20 Summit in November 2022, Indonesia received US$20 billion in energy transition funding through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) scheme. This fund is disbursed by the International Partners Group which consists of the G7 countries plus Denmark and Norway.

Suzanty Sitorus, Executive Director of Viriya ENB, said that JETP’s funds are not sufficient to finance the energy transition process in Indonesia, but that does not mean that its role is not important.

“What is more important is what (these funds) are intended for. Will the USD 20 billion lay the foundations for us to have a faster transition or not,” said Suzanty.

She added that it is important for Indonesia to learn from South Africa (a previous recipient of JETP funding), about an investment plan that suits the needs of the recipient country.

Harris, Director of Geothermal, Directorate General of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, stated that since the G20 Summit, the interest of entrepreneurs to invest in renewable energy, especially geothermal, has increased. This is a good thing for pursuing renewable energy targets in RUPTL.

“I don’t think the current RUPTL needs to increase the target, but we have to make sure that the existing target of 51% renewable (around 20.9 GW) is actually achieved,” said Harris.

He added that it was important to ensure that the RUPTL target was achieved because several times the government did not achieve the RUPTL target.

In addition to adding the installed capacity of renewable energy, energy efficiency is also one of the strategies to achieve net-zero emission status, especially in the industrial sector. Octavianus Bramantya, a member of the Net Zero Hub daily work team, KADIN, explained that the industrial sector is quite aware of the need to transition to cleaner energy sources, but they are still waiting for regulatory certainty.

“There has been an explosion of net-zero pledges from companies. Companies are no longer competing through price and product quality, but because there is a carbon footprint assessment for exports, companies have started to be motivated to think about their carbon footprint,” said Bramantya.

Companies engaged in foreign markets have considered this. Local companies still see this carbon calculation as an obstacle, so it is a challenge for KADIN Net-Zero Hub to help restructure capex values and show that low carbon development is actually profitable.

Options for CFPP to Allow High Level of Renewable in Indonesia’s Energy System

The energy transition has become a global necessity as an effort to mitigate climate change. Fossil energy burning is proven to contribute greatly to the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which causes an increase in the average global temperature. For countries whose energy systems are mostly supported by fossil energy, this requires special attention, because they also have to take the right steps amidst the available options to decarbonize the energy system which means ending the operational life of coal power plants.

Raditya Wiranegara, senior researcher at the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), during a webinar entitled “Financing Indonesia’s Coal Phase-Out: A Just and Accelerated Retirement Pathway to Net-Zero” Saturday, 19 November 2022, explained two scenarios that could be taken for coal-fired plant. These two scenarios aim to provide more space for renewable energy to enter the PLN grid.

The first option is to retire old CFPPs and are no longer operationally effective and efficient. To examine this option, IESR collaborated with the Center for Global Sustainability, University of Maryland, United States of America.

“Our research shows that there are 9.2 GW of coal-fired power plants that can be retired starting from 2022-2030,” said Raditya.

By retiring all coal plants, and building renewable energy-based plants, Indonesia can achieve net zero emission status by 2050 aligned with the Paris Agreement.

In addition, there are various socio-economic and environmental impacts that can be avoided. Until 2050 it is estimated that there will be 168,000 deaths that can be avoided with the retirement scenario of all coal power plants.

The second option is to operate the CFPP flexibly. Flexible CFPP operation means changing the pattern of CFPP operation from initially operating 24 hours a day to support the base load of the electricity system, to only supporting peak loads at certain hours.

“This flexible operating pattern allows the addition of renewable energy supplies, especially energy sources that depend on certain conditions such as solar and wind,” explained Raditya.

Raditya added, this flexible operating pattern is suitable for CFPPs that are still young, as there are many in Indonesia. In the study report “Flexible Thermal Power Plant: An Analysis of Operating Coal-fired Power Plant Flexibly to Enable the High-Level Variable Renewables in Indonesia’s Power System” it is explained that technically the CFPPs in the Sumatra, Java-Bali and Sulawesi can be operated flexibly. There will be differences in the level of efficiency, the amount of emissions, and the investment costs required from one unit to another depending on the age of the coal plant. A relatively young CFPP requires lower retrofit costs because the infrastructure is still relatively strong to support a flexible operational pattern.

For this reason, careful planning is needed to operate the Coal plants flexibly as well as to retire the coal plants and increase the capacity of renewable energy in the system. The government through PLN can also include a flexible coal plant operation pattern in the electricity supply planning document to provide regulatory certainty to investors.

An explanation of flexible PLTU operations can be watched via the following channel.

Aligning the Electricity Supply to the Paris Agreement Pathway

Jakarta, 24 November 2022 – Electricity has become a primary need as well as an economic driver for everyone. The demand for electricity is predicted to continue to increase both from the industrial sector and from the residential sector. In order to meet this demand and reduce emissions in the energy sector, planning with greater use of renewable energy should be designed in the RUPTL (Electricity Supply Business Plan).

In the 2021-2030 RUPTL, PLN plans to increase renewable energy capacity by up to 51.6%. Unfortunately, the amount of this target is not enough to meet the target of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit emissions and global temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Akbar Bagaskara, IESR’s power system researcher, during the launching of the study report “Enabling High Share of Renewable Energy in Indonesia’s Power System by 2030” explained that as a country ranked in the top 10 largest emitters in the world, Indonesia has a responsibility to reduce its emissions systematically.

“Electrification in all sectors ranging from industry, transportation and other sectors as well as the maximum utilization of renewable energy is the main key to reducing Indonesia’s emissions and then pursuing the Paris Agreement target,” Akbar explained.

Akbar explained that the renewable energy capacity that can be added to the system reaches 129 GW consisting of 112.1 GW of solar energy, 9.2 GW of water energy, 5.2 GW of geothermal energy, 1.5 GW of wind energy, and biomass of 1 GW.

Akbar also added that this study was a follow-up of the “Deep Decarbonization of Indonesia’s Energy System” study launched by the IESR in 2021 which looked at the possibility of Indonesia’s energy system achieving net zero emission (NZE) status by using 100% renewable energy in 2050.

Kamia Handayani, PT PLN’s EVP Energy Transition and Sustainability, explained that the 2021-2030 RUPTL is indeed not suitable for pursuing the Paris Agreement target.

“RUPTL is indeed not fully aligned with the Paris agreement because there is still coal involved. We (PLN) have several scenarios to reach NZE, based on PLN’s NZE roadmap until 2060, CCS can be a technology that is utilized. Yet, we must see future technological developments to meet the NZE target,” said Kamia.

Elrika Hamdi, Energy Finance Analyst at IEEFA, added that in order to align with the Paris Agreement targets, there needs to be one agency that monitors the implementation and development of renewables.

“There needs to be an agency that ensures development targets and renewable procurement which, for example, is issued by the government in the electricity system so that curtailment can be anticipated,” said Elrika.

Ikhsan Asa’ad, Chairman of the Executive Board of PJCI, highlighted the importance of building a strong domestic renewable energy industry such as solar to meet ambitious renewable energy targets.

“Currently, the price of renewables is still relatively more expensive than PLN’s electricity, but the more massive the use, the more competitive the price is expected to be. Local industry must begin to be prepared to meet the increasing demand for renewable energy components in the country,” he emphasized.

Eko Adhi Setiyawan, Lecturer, University of Indonesia, said that there is a need for demand management to mobilize customers. In addition, it is necessary to translate the Paris Agreement terminology into more concrete targets.

The Potential Role of the Industry and Community Sectors in Accelerating a Just Energy Transition

Semarang, 10 November 2022 – The energy transition has become the focus of many parties lately. It’s not only the government that has the responsibility to provide clean and affordable energy for the entire community, the industrial sector is also starting to switch to clean energy through various efforts. For companies, today’s global product competitiveness is also determined by how the manufacturing process is carried out efficiently and by using sustainable energy sources. The collaborative action of various sectors in the use of renewable energy will support the acceleration of the energy transition on a national level.

To take a closer look at various initiatives from the industry and community sectors, the Central Java Provincial Energy and Mineral Resources Office in collaboration with the Institute for Essential Services Reform organized the “Jelajah Energi Terbarukan” activity on November 10-11 2022. This activity visits several destinations focused on industries and villages that utilize renewable energy potential. This is the second activity, after last June a similar activity was carried out with a focus on different destinations.

The journey started by visiting CV Jaya Setia Plastik, in Demak, to see how the children’s toy industry saves electricity by installing a 470 kWp on-grid rooftop solar PV.

PLTS Atap di CV Jaya Setia Plastik
PLTS Atap di CV Jaya Setia Plastik

“Currently, what is actually installed on our roof is 1,300 kWp, but we have not used the other 470 kWp connected to PLN because we are currently constrained by regulations that limit the installation of rooftop PLTS to a maximum of 15% of the total installed power,” Wahyu representative of CV Jaya Setia Plastik explained. 

Djarum Kretek Oasis, which is located in Kudus, Central Java, also experienced similar challenges. Having several types of green industry initiatives such as the use of biomass boilers, rooftop PLTS, water storage ponds equipped with wastewater treatment facilities, Djarum is still determined to continue to increase its renewable energy capacity.

“Our roof area can still accommodate more solar PV, but due to regulatory limitations we have not been able to add capacity,” said Suwarno, Deputy General Manager Engineering at PT Djarum.

The limitation of rooftop PV capacity has become a concern of various parties because it has become one of the obstacles for consumers, especially the industrial sector, to install or increase the capacity of their rooftop solar. Currently, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and PLN are in the process of revising the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources’ decree no. 26/2021 which regulates the installation of rooftop PV for PLN consumers.

Apart from utilizing solar rooftop, Djarum Oasis has also designed a sustainability scheme for its factory comprehensively covering various aspects, one of which is by utilizing the pruning trees of ‘trembesi’ (Samanea saman) planted on a number of toll roads as part of its CSR, as wood chips for biomass boiler fuel.

The first day’s journey continues towards the waste-to-energy plant Putri Cempo, which is in the Surakarta area. This plant has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with PLN and will be on COD at the end of 2022. Elan Suherlan, Director of PT SCMP (Solo Metro Citra Plasma) explained, Putri Cempo waste-to-energy plant exists to overcome the waste problem in Surakarta city which can no longer be accommodated by the Waste Processing Site. PT SMCP, which won the tender for the plant construction, started its construction in 2021.

“Later Putri Cempo waste-to-energy plant will produce 5 MW of electricity and will be distributed to PLN,” said Elan.

What needs to be observed is a clear calculation of the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from this waste-to-energy plant.

The first day of “Jelajah Energi” was closed by visiting Krendowahono Village, which has utilized biogenic shallow gas for 30 households. Biogenic gas is produced from organic compounds such as plants and grasses that decompose with the help of bacteria. Because it comes from residues of organic compounds, biogenic gasses are generally found in shallow soil layers. Since its amount is relatively small and dispersed, biogenic gas must be compressed (increased pressure) so that it is easy to flow and use.

Several villages in Central Java have quite a lot of potential for biogenic gas, including Gabus Village, in Ngrampal District, Sragen, Rajek Village, in Grobogan, Bantar, and Pegundungan Villages in Banjarnegara, which can be used as an alternative energy source for cooking. The biogenic gas utilization installation is also relatively low and can be used communally.

Solihin, head of RT 6, Krendowahono Village, explained that the discovery of swamp gas started with residents who were going to make a well for a water source but when water was found at a certain depth, the water could actually catch fire.

“After we reported it and a team came to check it, turned out that this gas can be used for households,” he said.

Mrs. Uni, one of the beneficiaries of the swamp gas, admitted that by using the swamp gas she could save on cooking fuel quite significantly.

“Usually in a month I can use 4 of 3 kg of LPG gas, now it’s only 1,” she said while showing her kitchen. Uni admits that she still uses LPG gas as a fuel reserve for cooking because the stove from swamp gas only has 1 burner.

Currently the local communities are designing an operational system for the swamp gas network, starting from the operating hours of the machine, the amount of contributions, and maintenance costs.