Jakarta, 6 February 2023 – Indonesia’s journey to net zero emission is still a long and winding road. One of the government’s actions in realizing this target is to make regulations to encourage the implementation of renewable energy. In reality, targets, regulations and implementation are often unaligned.

Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), in the Market Review segment on the IDX channel (24/01/2023), stated that in 2022, Indonesia’s target for renewable energy development of 1000 MW has not been fully realized.

“There are several factors why this target was not fully realized, the first is the economic weakening which has caused unoptimized growth of electricity demand. Another factor is the pandemic, which caused delays on several renewable energy projects,” explained Fabby.

Furthermore, Fabby explained that Government Regulation no. 79/2014, which was more thoroughly mandated in Presidential Decree 22/2017, has set a target of a national renewable energy mix of 23% by 2025. To achieve this target, Fabby estimates that there needs to be a renewable energy growth of 3-4 Gigawatts per year. In fact, since the Government Regulation in 2014 was enacted, the average renewable energy increase rate is only 15% from 3-4 GW, which is around 400-500 MW.

This problem is also rooted in the country’s energy infrastructure itself. Indonesia’s energy source still depends on fossil energy, which accounts for 86%. To change this structure, it is also important to consider the growth in energy demand in Indonesia. Indonesia must then strive to use renewable energy to tackle this increasing energy demand. According to IESR calculations, energy transition efforts in Indonesia require around 1.4 billion dollars in funding. This fund covers renewable energy and energy infrastructure upgrades.

Regarding people’s economic perceptions, Fabby assesses that fossil energy is still seen as more economic because currently coal is still subsidized by the government. The Domestic Market Obligation Act in 2017 capped coal prices at $70/ton even if global prices are higher. This kind of incentive should also be given to the development of renewable energy. However, the incentive was also hampered by the Domestic Component Policy Level (TKDN).

“Solar PV has become the most efficient source of renewable energy, but in Indonesia it has become expensive. Compared to 10 years ago, the price of solar PV has decreased by 90%. The TKDN policy is actually a disincentive that can prevent investors from investing and make solar PV more affordable,” concluded Fabby.