Tempo | IESR: Indonesia Needs to Learn from Denmark, Australia, and the USA in Energy Transition.

Program Manager for Sustainable Energy Access at the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), Marlistya Citraningrum, stated that Indonesia needs to learn from the experiences of several countries in energy transition. These countries include Denmark, Australia, and the United States, which already have islands with 100 percent renewable energy.

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Introducing Rooftop PV and Its Related Aspects to Students of SMK Negeri 7 Semarang

Semarang, 6 June 2023 – The Energy and Mineral Resources Office of Central Java Province is holding technical training on the construction and installation of rooftop solar PV in order to increase human capital in the electricity sector, new and renewable energy, energy conservation, especially for PV installations. The rooftop PV training was attended by 30 representatives of the third grade students from the Electrical Engineering major, SMK Negeri 7 Semarang.

The Head of SMK Negeri 7 Semarang, Haris Wahyudi, warmly welcomed this initiative and believed that the training was the right skill for his students.

“This training is a contextual skill to equip our students, whether they are going to do internships or join the labor forces. This competence is very necessary and very appropriate, we are grateful and grateful for being given the opportunity and having this activity at SMK Negeri 7 Semarang,” he said.

Haris hoped that this training could be motivating and useful, so that in the future there would be high opportunities for rooftop PV – related jobs to be filled by one of his students with good skills and provisions.

This rooftop PV training activity is one of the efforts made by the Provincial Government of Central Java through the ESDM Office to increase the knowledge and skills of the younger generation, so that they are able to take part in facing the energy transition.

Boedyo Dharmawan, Plt. Head of the Energy and Mineral Resources Office of Central Java Province in his remarks said that Central Java has abundant potential for new and renewable energy (NRE), many NRE practices have been built and utilized by the people of Central Java. He hopes that the younger generations will be able to understand and be ready to face the changes in the energy transition that will continue to occur in the future.

“Thirty-five districts/cities in Central Java Province have a lot of PV energy potential, and in the future, we will gradually abandon fossil energy because its availability continues to decrease, this is inevitable, we need to be prepared and ready to face it,” he said.

“Hopefully with this PV rooftop training, youths can build and take good care of PV management. Because if we only continue to encourage and massive development of solar energy, but the maintenance and maintenance is lacking, in the future this can become an opportunity and job opportunities for younger siblings in the future,” he continued.

In addition, Dharmawan also hopes that NRE programs can be supported by all parties, including the educational communities in Central Java Province.

“We really hope that the Education and Culture Office will encourage renewable energy development programs, so that State Vocational High School students in Central Java are ready to face energy transition,” he added.

Rizqi M Prasetyo, regional program officer of, Sustainable Energy Access, Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) participated as one of the speakers in the rooftop PV technical training, with the theme “The Green Superheroes: Solar Team is Saving the Planet!”. The presentation of the material began with a quiz on future PV – related job opportunities, which was enthusiastically followed by the participants.

“The material presented is clear, the delivery method is more exciting, so we don’t get bored listening, it combined with quizzes via cell phones, so the material is easy to understand, because the delivery method is so good,” said Aditya Arya Permata, one of the students.

Rizqi also gave descriptions of current and future climate conditions and employment opportunities. It is hoped that the training participants will be literate and have a high awareness that the development of renewable energy, especially solar energy, can open new jobs that are environmentally friendly.

“We hope that the solar PV training at this school can encourage and motivate the younger generation to become a generation that is environmentally conscious and understands the importance of the energy transition, so that in the future they will be able to contribute, innovate, and lead the process of transforming into a low-carbon economy through solar energy,” said Rizqi.

Apart from IESR, training materials were also delivered by the Energy and Mineral Resources Office of Central Java Province and PPSDM EBTKE. This training takes place from 6 – 9 June 2023 with materials covering Rooftop PV Policy and Development in Central Java, PV Regulations and Safety Procedures, PV Systems and Components and ends with the practice of installing rooftop PV.

Government and Industrial Sector Support for Energy Transition in Central Java

Semarang, December 8, 2022 – Indonesia is setting a target to achieve a renewable energy mix of 23% in 2025. In order to encourage the energy transition in Central Java, the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) and the Central Java Provincial Government are holding the Central Java Stakeholder Gathering 2022 with the theme ‘Energy Transition for Development of Low Carbon Areas’ which takes place annually via hybrid.

Achmad Husein, The Regent of Banyumas, stated that he had closed the two most giant landfills​​ in Banyumas to reduce carbon. Garbage will be sorted into useful, non-organic and organic waste.

“In managing waste, Banyumas uses technological solutions divided into two types, first downstream (community), by using a waste bank. Second, an app initiative to reduce plastic waste upstream, by buying all plastic from the community (various types of plastic). Then, there is also an application for people to sort organic waste and get paid. Each kilogram of organic waste is paid Rp. 100, “explained Achmad Husein.

Tavip Rubiyanto, Head of Sub-Division of Energy and Mineral Resources, Directorate of Synchronization of Regional Government Affairs I, Directorate General of Regional Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, explained the importance of regional development, which can make a significant contribution to national development. However, several cities still need to prepare a Regional Energy General Plan (RUED), so assistance from the Central Government is required in its design. The problem is that regions can only contribute as much as the authority they hold.

“Regional authority for energy transition is relatively small, so its contribution is also relatively small. For this reason, the Ministry of Home Affairs will draft a Presidential Decree for Strengthening Regional Roles. Consequently, the regions need to revise the RUED according to the new authority/budget to support the energy transition target,” Tavip explained.

In line with Tavip, Djoko Siswanto, Secretary General of the National Energy Council (DEN) hopes that there will be better coordination and cooperation between local governments in Indonesia to achieve renewable energy goals. For example, ​​the Central Government can instruct local governments to use electric vehicles in implementing RUED. Even so, there are still obstacles in increasing energy utilization in accordance with regional potential, most importantly funding.

“On the other hand, we need international support to face the funding challenges in the energy transition. For this reason, regional regulations can become a basis for investors in developing renewable energy in the region. It could be with the cooperation of region-owned business entities, the private sector, and international parties,” said Djoko.

To support the acceleration of the energy transition in the region, Muhammad Firdaus, Deputy Head of Bank Indonesia Representative for Central Java Province, explained that green financing (green economy) in Central Java is significant o support a sustainable economy. The green economy is projected to deliver benefits such as job creation, and help ease export barriers. Thus the reduction in production costs is only a maximum of 10%, making it less attractive for companies to implement a circular economy.

“Bank Indonesia is trying to encourage banks to extend credit to the green economy sector. One of the projects that has been carried out is Green Loan to Value Ratio (LTV) 0% (without down payment) and allows buying green bonds to meet the Macroprudential Inclusive Financing Ratio (RPIM),” he said.

Meanwhile, Ignasius Iswanto, General Manager Engineering, PT Djarum OASIS Kretek Factory stated that Djarum had made efforts towards sustainability. For example, Djarum already has a carbon footprint report, water resources management, energy saving, and composting. Furthermore, PT Djarum uses a biomass boiler with wood chip fuel on boilers. Emissions reduced from planting rain trees (trembesi) in the Djarum Bakti Lingkungan Program amount to 4,457,400 million tonnes of CO2e. He also explained that through his efforts to make Djarum an environmentally friendly company, he discovered another energy producing source using wastewater, namely plasma energy.

“Plasma energy should also be considered as a source of renewable energy, where liquid waste can be broken down by plasma into electricity and clean water. However, its use is more suitable for industrial complexes,” said Ignasius.