Between Low Renewable Energy Target and High Economic Growth Ambitions

Jakarta, 20 February 2024 – Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) assesses the steps taken by the National Energy Council (DEN) to adjust the renewable energy mix target in the Draft of Government Regulation on National Energy Policy (RPP KEN)  from the original 23 percent to 17-19 percent 2030 is a backward step because it is not in line with the stated goal of reducing emissions and achieving Indonesia’s net-zero emissions target by 2060 or sooner.

Fabby also highlighted the energy transition agenda carried by each pair of presidential candidates in the 2024 election, which includes a number of renewable energy mix targets until 2030 in an interview with the Squawk Box program.

According to him, each candidate has an energy transition agenda, one of which is the desire to pursue the same renewable energy mix target as the current National Energy Policy, ranging from 27-30 percent by 2030. Apart from that, each candidate also has a commitment to limit the operation of coal power plants.

“For candidate number 02, what is clearly visible is the increase in the use of biofuel to replace or reduce fuel subsidies as stated during the campaign,” said Fabby. They (presidential and vice-presidential candidates’ number two) are targeting a biofuel blend percentage of 50 percent by 2029, as well as ethanol utilization of 10-20 percent.

Furthermore, Fabby emphasized that for the electricity sector, the aim of ending coal plant operations early must be accompanied by adding a larger portion of renewable energy. Apart from replacing the electrical power that was initially supplied by coal-fired power plants, renewable energy generation must also meet the projected electricity growth needs in the future. Moreover, Indonesia has the ambition to pursue economic growth of up to, for example, 6-7 percent, so electricity demand is projected to grow even greater.

“Based on IESR’s calculations, to achieve these various targets, the renewable energy mix in 2030 must reach 40 percent, this is somewhat different from the target adjustments made by DEN currently,” explained Fabby.

Fabby added that the new government’s homework related to the energy sector will be to accelerate the development of renewable energy, especially in the electricity and liquid fuel sub-sectors.

Preparing for the Energy Transition in South Sumatra for Youth

Palembang, 5 December 2023 – The increasing intensity of hydrometeorological disasters in the last decade indicates that climate change is currently underway. Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, said that the earth is entering an era of global boiling, where July 2023 was recorded as the hottest day in history.

Climate change occurs due to high greenhouse gas emissions. The energy sector is one of the highest emitters, especially with the use of fossil energy such as coal. Indonesia is one of the coal producing countries, with 80% of its coal output for export needs. Indonesian coal production is concentrated in four provinces in Indonesia, namely East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, North Kalimantan and South Sumatra. South Sumatra is a food and energy barn for the island of Sumatra. The coal produced by South Sumatra will be used to generate electricity which will supply all the electricity needs on the island of Sumatra, according to projections, it will even export electricity as far as Singapore.

Marlistya Citraningrum, Sustainable Energy Access Program Manager of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), in a public lecture at Sriwijaya University quoted a survey related to the current climate change phenomenon, young people aged 24-39 years had high concerns about the climate crisis and impact.

“The energy transition is a systematic effort to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis that we are increasingly feeling,” said Marlistya Citraningrum, who is familiarly known as Citra.

This change in the energy system also has other impacts, namely the growing need for workers who have skills and insight into sustainability.

However, young people’s enthusiasm for getting involved in green jobs is hampered by several things, one of which is the limited information about green jobs and job vacancies in the green jobs sector.

“In the energy transition process, young people can take roles according to their respective skills, not limited to the engineering field alone. Social departments such as economics and international relations can also contribute to the energy transition process,” said Citra.

Citra added that currently a number of challenges still face the development of green jobs in Indonesia, one of which is related to certification. Currently, certification is still limited to technical sectors related to renewable energy-based electricity generation.

On the other hand, reducing and stopping the use of coal and switching to renewable energy will have an impact on social and economic aspects in coal-producing regions in Indonesia. Hari Wibawa, Head of the Economic and Development Funding Division of South Sumatra Bappeda, on the same occasion, said that coal reserves in South Sumatra province will run out in 12 years, so economic diversification is very important to avoid major economic shocks when the coal sector stops.

“Our (government’s) current priority is to integrate the energy transition plan into the RPJPD so that every action or activity has a strong legal basis,” said Hari.

IETO 2024: Indonesia Needs to Build Momentum to Reach Peak Energy Sector Emissions in 2030

Jakarta, December 12, 2023 – Indonesia aims to reach peak greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2035 and gradually move towards net zero emission (NZE) by 2060 or earlier. The energy sector in Indonesia is currently a major source of emissions, with nearly 90.4 percent of the country’s domestic energy supply coming from fossil fuels. Therefore, the transition to renewable energy is crucial in reducing emissions.

Unfortunately, the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) observed that the trend of renewable energy development tends to slow down, reaching only 0.97 GW of the 3.4 GW target in the fourth quarter of 2023. This slow progress will make it difficult for Indonesia to reduce its emissions and meet the decarbonization target in the power sector. Moreover, with rapidly increasing emissions from the demand sector, Indonesia is at risk of not reaching its peak emissions. Therefore, it is crucial to have high emission reduction ambition and strong political commitment to achieve the target.

The discussion of Indonesia’s efforts to reach peak emissions in 2030, which has the potential to be a milestone in the transformation to renewable energy on a large scale or to end hopes of achieving the NZE target sooner, is the main topic in IESR’s flagship report entitled Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook (IETO) 2024.

The Executive Director of IESR, Fabby Tumiwa, stated that this year’s IETO 2024 is more comprehensive in monitoring Indonesia’s energy transition development and projection. Tumiwa mentioned that Indonesia has already released a plan.

The IETO 2024 report states that for Indonesia to meet the emission target of 250 MtCO2e/y by 2030, as agreed upon in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), it must reduce its coal and diesel power plants by 4.29 GW by 2030. Furthermore, Indonesia needs to increase its renewable energy development by at least 30.5 GW by 2030 to achieve this goal.

Pintoko Aji, Renewable Energy Analyst of IESR, said that the high penetration of variable renewable energy (solar and wind power) will make the concept of baseload plants or plants that operate continuously with high capacity irrelevant.

“To incorporate more variable renewable energy (VRE), Indonesia’s electricity system requires a flexible and responsive infrastructure. This means that the power system must be able to adapt to fluctuating loads and respond to the variability of electricity production from VRE sources. To achieve this, it is necessary to thoroughly review contractual restrictions, such as legal contract modifications from take-or-pay to take-and-pay, and to implement flexibility incentives.,” said Pintoko Aji.

IESR encourages the government to show stronger political will and concrete steps to accelerate renewable energy penetration. In addition, the decarbonization strategy must be implemented across all sectors to support each other. IESR believes that the new president who will be elected in the 2024 election must create momentum for the energy transition from the beginning of his leadership.

All discussions on the status and analysis of the energy sector to accelerate the energy transition are summarized in the Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook (IETO) 2024 and published since 2017 with the Indonesia Clean Energy Outlook (ICEO), which then transformed into IETO in 2019.

“In addition to summarizing the course of Indonesia’s energy transition over the past year, this IETO comprehensively projects sectoral policies in each energy sector and contrasts them with long-term targets. This can be an input for policymakers and stakeholders in the electricity, transportation, industry, and building sectors to improve their sectoral emission mitigation targets and implementation levels,” explained Deon Arinaldo, Program Manager of Energy Transformation, IESR.

 

IESR will host the Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook 2024 report launch on December 15, 2023. Don’t miss the chance to register and participate in this momentous event. Visit s.id/IETO2024 to secure your spot today.

Kontan | Here’s The Description of the Cirebon 1 CFPP Transaction will be Completed in the First Semester of 2024

The Cirebon 1 Coal Fired Power Plant (CFPP) will have its operational life shortened by seven years, and it is now expected to operate only until December 2035 instead of July 2042. The project has secured funding commitments from the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) scheme, and the transaction is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2024.

Read more on Kontan.