Implementation Check Methodology: a Much Needed Mechanism

New York, 21 September 2023 – The global community is urging global leaders to take serious actions to address climate change. During the COP 27 in Egypt, several countries renewed their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving net zero emission status. However, there are still gaps between commitment and implementation of policy and action to seize the determined target. 

To assess, rate, and monitor a country’s progress during the policy implementation, Climate Transparency, a global partnership of research organizations and NGO in the G20 countries, has developed a methodology to review policy implementation across four categories: legal status, institutions & governance, resourcing, and oversight.  

Yvonne Deng, Energy and Climate Strategy Expert from the 7Gen Consulting, emphasized the importance of having monitoring instruments to review current policy and its role to seize the climate target. 

“We (Climate Transparency) analyze the gap and go deeper to the sectoral approach to recommend what sectoral policy a country should take to pursue the ambition,” said Yvonne.

South Africa, one of the countries receiving global attention lately as the first recipient of Just Energy Transition Partnership funding. Guy Cunliffe, Energy System Researcher of the University of Cape Town explained that as a country receiving international assistance, South Africa needs to showcase accountability during implementation. 

“An implementation monitoring is critical to showcase success of the implementation and as a beneficiary country it is also a way to display progress of the committed project,” he said.

Guy added that as the first JETP recipient, South Africa has increased its climate ambition and tried to integrate significant renewable capacity to its grid. However, during the implementation, the country is experiencing a glitch in terms of electricity supply. This glitch ‘forces’ them to adjust the plan and policy while rapidly changing the energy market. This is only possible with continuous policy monitoring. 

Similar to South Africa, Indonesia, as one of the biggest coal producers, has its electricity generation dominated by coal. In 2022, Indonesia renewed its emission reduction target in enhanced NDC, from 29% to 31.89% (unconditional) and 41% to 43.2% (conditional).

Wira Agung Swadana, Green Economy Program Manager at the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), noted that during the transition away from coal-dependency, there are still conflicting interests among stakeholders, primarily due to the government’s lack of clear guidance on the transition’s meaning and direction transition.

“Though Indonesia has increased ambition and target in its NDC, the enabling environment for the renewable energy developers is not attractive enough yet. There is still no clear incentive for the investors as well as the lengthy process,” Wira explained. 

The in progress New and Renewable Energy Bill (RUU EBET), though believed to provide a robust policy framework, is to some extent attempting to prolong the use of fossil fuels by including CCS technology in the renewable options.

Eight Recommendations of IETD 2023

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Jakarta, September 20, 2023 – Transforming the electricity sector with renewable energy development and accelerating the coal-fired power plants requires significant financing. The availability of energy transition financing will help the government, utility companies, and community groups to increase the number of renewable energy projects, thereby further reducing the price of renewable energy generation. The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) stated that Indonesia must create innovative sustainable financing schemes to meet renewable energy investment needs.

“Ideas for financing schemes and innovations need to continue to be explored considering the unique structure of the electricity market in Indonesia. Indonesia can use the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) or Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) process to explore this scheme. In the end, a scheme that can be implemented will require input from all stakeholders, PT PLN, power plant utilities, and financial institutions,” explained Deon Arinaldo, Program Manager of Energy Transformation, IESR.

One opportunity to finance the energy transition with limited public funding, according to Iliad Lubis, South Asia Utility Transition Manager, Rocky Mountain Institute, on the third day of the Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD) 2023 (20/9), is carbon credits. Illiad said carbon credits could increase funding from coal transition agreements, generate higher-quality carbon credits in the carbon market, and accelerate the energy transition.

“Even though there are currently various requirements for monetizing carbon credits, in the future, the opportunity to utilize carbon financing will become increasingly attractive with the carbon market predicted to grow significantly,” said Illiad.

Meanwhile, from the business community, financing needs such as concessional loans and financial institutions’ credit support will help businesses switch to the renewable energy sector.

“We need a clear energy transition roadmap for the initial stage to know the financing needed. Second, due to the limited availability of public funding, we need financing support from multilateral and philanthropists to secure concessional financing that can be combined with commercial banks. It will provide the appropriate right credit risk for the project, ensuring investors receive adequate returns,” said Ekha Yudha Pratama, Head and Advisory Services, PT. SMI.

To achieve significant emission reduction targets, the Indonesia Clean Energy Forum (ICEF) and IESR in IETD 2023 have presented eight recommendations to accelerate the energy transformation in the Indonesian electricity sector. These recommendations aim to expedite the process and achieve quick results.

First of all, proposing an energy transition linked to social and economic development. IESR and ICEF emphasized the need for clear targets across ministries.

Second, the availability of strong support for renewable energy development in the next five years. The commitment of the G20 leaders, including Indonesia, to triple their renewable energy capacity should be taken seriously. This can be achieved by providing incentives for the renewable energy market and industry.

Third, the increase of transparency and accessibility of renewable energy data through joint collaboration. Comprehensive and accurate data on renewable energy can benefit all stakeholders by reducing uncertainty in project development for Independent Power Producers (IPPs), financial institutions, and supporting system operators. This can lead to more efficient planning in utilizing renewable energy and its resources.

Fourth, establish a research center for renewable energy, focusing on solar and wind, to operate a flexible and reliable system amidst supply variations and demand uncertainty.

Fifth, it is essential to encourage and support local governments, businesses, and communities in identifying renewable energy potential and developing local energy transition plans. The energy transition process should involve all parties, and the first step towards achieving this goal is to identify different groups of actors and hold dialogues with them.

 

Sixth, reviewing and merging policies and regulations to facilitate renewable energy projects to find competitive tariffs. These policies should aim for more ambitious renewable energy targets, transparent and regular scheduling of renewable energy project procurement processes, and mitigation of various risks that may arise from renewable energy development.

Seventh, exploring and testing financing structures, including coal-to-renewable energy projects with private developers and financial institutions, and utilizing them through a just energy transition cooperation scheme (Just Energy Transition Partnership/JETP) and the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM).

Eighth, prioritizing the energy transition as a central issue in the political manifestos of national and provincial leadership candidates ahead of the election is of utmost importance. The energy transition will impact society in various ways, such as energy affordability and security in the short term and the long-term effects of climate change on people’s livelihoods. Therefore, Indonesia needs strong leadership to ensure a smooth transition towards sustainable energy sources. The Institute for Essential Technology and Development (IETD) strongly encourages the energy transition to be one of the main agendas discussed during the campaign period, as it will significantly impact the country’s future.

The Indonesia Clean Energy Forum (ICEF) and the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR), held the 2023 Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD) on 18-20 September 2023.

Ensuring the Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Project Procurement

Jakarta, September 20, 2023 – Standardizing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) has become one of the ways to expedite negotiations for renewable energy projects and avoid potential legal violations. This was one of the topics discussed at the 2023 Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD).

Kirana Sastrawijaya, Senior Partner of UMBRA, highlighted considerations for standardization, including referencing bankable PPAs that have proven successful.

“In addition to referring to successful PPAs, other factors to consider for PPA standardization include providing flexibility clauses to avoid perceived ‘legal violations,’ accommodating advancements in new technologies, conducting financial studies to justify risk allocation, and comparing with other countries,” Kirana explained.

Raditya Wiranegara, Senior Analyst of Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) mentioned that,  the challenge in PPA standardization is how to adapt it to market dynamics, possibly through periodic updates of PPA standards, for instance.

“This way, investors are prepared and maintain certainty. Moreover, as mentioned by Ms. Kirana, this standardization also needs to consider the power generation technology. In other words, PPA standards for fossil fuel-based power generation should differ from those for renewable energy-based power generation,” said Raditya Wiranegara, Senior Analyst of IESR. 

From the industry perspective, Anthony Utomo, Executive Committee Member of Kadin Net Zero Hub, emphasized the importance of renewable energy project availability in PPA discussions.

“Regarding PPAs involving developers, firstly, existing renewable energy projects must be in place. Secondly, standardizing PPAs would greatly help to speed up negotiations and ensure transparency. Thirdly, concerning carbon rights, especially for ongoing PPAs, it needs to be determined whether they will belong to PLN (the state-owned electricity company) or the developer,” he expressed.

Arjun Dutt, Senior Programme Lead at CEEW Centre for Energy Finance, shared India’s experience procuring renewable energy projects through auctions. He emphasized that creating favorable policy packages for procuring renewable energy projects involves ensuring demand certainty, mitigating land and evacuation risks, network integration, and off-taker risk mitigation.

“To ensure demand certainty, measures like Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) standards for renewable energy portfolio determination can be implemented. Additionally, expanding consumer access to promote renewable energy adoption and developing new sources of renewable energy demand, such as electric vehicles and green hydrogen, can be instrumental,” Arjun elaborated.

Zulfikar Manggau, Senior Specialist in Project Management and Power Generation at PT PLN (Persero), acknowledged their desire for more efficient and competitive renewable energy project procurement and PPAs.

“PLN is striving to increase sales through a continuously growing industry, thus expanding demand and adding new renewable energy generators in the future,” Zulfikar stated. He mentioned that PLN is currently finalizing the Ministerial Regulation on Power Purchase Agreements (PJBL).

The Indonesia Clean Energy Forum (ICEF) and the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (KESDM), organized the Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD) 2023 from September 18 to 20, 2023.

Indonesia’s Commitment to Energy Transition is Impacting Financing Opportunities

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Jakarta, September 18, 2023 – An energy transition in the electricity sector that prioritizes equitable principles and is affordable for society requires a combination of strategic factors, long-term commitment, and policies that lead to investment opportunities for the development of renewable energy and technological innovation. This was stated by Deon Arinaldo, Program Manager of Energy Transformation, Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR).

“All forms of investment, especially for energy infrastructure with a lifespan exceeding 20 years, it is essential to have long-term policies and legal certainty in place to ensure success. This is important for project developers and financial institutions to calculate the project risks. Moreover, renewable energy projects require relatively large initial investments compared to other energy sources. By committing to long-term targets and synergies from various existing policies and regulations, the level of investment risk can be reduced so that renewable energy projects remain bankable with low-interest funding,” explained Deon.

Febrio Nathan Kacaribu, Head of the Fiscal Policy Agency, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia in the 2023 Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD), said that energy transition carried out by a developing country like Indonesia must take place in just and affordably. He assessed that to achieve an Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of 29% unconditionally (with its own efforts) in 2030 in the energy sector, it would reach IDR 3,900 trillion.  However, the financial requirements of an Enhanced NDC (ENDC) with an unconditional emission reduction target of 31.89% are still being estimated.

Febrio explained that his party had made several breakthroughs in efforts to finance the energy transition in Indonesia, including expanding investment through green sukuk, with the total investment mobilization from the issuance of green sukuk reaching USD 6.54 billion from the 2018-2022 period as well as implementing several regulatory frameworks in Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) has been carried out. Febrio emphasized that collaboration for blended finance with the private sector has increasingly great opportunities.

“One of the obstacles for the private sector (to invest in the energy transition, ed) is the lack of a common understanding or taxonomy. This year, with Indonesia as chairman of ASEAN, one of the things agreed was that transition activities would also include the early termination of coal-fired power plant operations, which are included in the transition finance taxonomy. There are green provisions with certain limits that can be financed by the private sector; for example, if early retirement of coal fired power plants (CFPP) before 2040, then the private sector will join in (financing-ed),” said Febrio.

Dadan Kusdiana, Secretary General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) mentioned that the trend in the cost of renewable energy tends to decrease while fossil energy, such as coal, is increasing. Dadan mentioned, although the investment needs for the energy transition are very large, Indonesia has the potential for renewable energy and various forms of financing, which also come from various international organizations.

“Large investment (for the energy transition, red) is an opportunity to transition the energy sector. Indeed, there will be an increase in costs, but we will feel the benefits of reducing the costs of renewable energy in the long term,” explained Dadan.

Jonathan Habjan, Economic Counselor at the United States Embassy in Indonesia, said that the energy transition is a challenging process and involves many people over a long period, so it needs to be done correctly and efficiently.

“Of course, this will cost a lot of money, require a lot of effort, and change how business is done in many ways,” he said.

 

Jonathan added that to ensure that the energy transition somewhat takes place, it is necessary to involve people classified as vulnerable, including those who still work in the coal industry.

The Indonesia Clean Energy Forum (ICEF) and the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR), held the 2023 Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD) on 18-20 September 2023.

Improving Indonesia’s Energy Transition Strategy

Jakarta, 13 September 2023 – The energy transition is increasingly inevitable as global climate commitments strengthen. The energy sector is one of the sectors highlighted because of its intense emissions. More or less the same thing also happened in Indonesia. The Indonesian Government’s commitment to achieving net zero emission status is accompanied by a set of strategies and plans, one of which is intervention in the energy sector, especially the power generation.

Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform, explained that the electricity sector is a low-hanging fruit sector or a sector that is quite easy to decarbonize.

“A successful transition in the electricity sector will accelerate the transition in other sectors such as industry and transportation,” explained Fabby in a webinar entitled “Preparing for Indonesia’s Energy Transition & Anticipating Its Implications and Launching the Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue”.

The Energy Transformation Program Manager, Institute for Essential Services Reform, Deon Arinaldo, added that the electricity sector has a solid enough supporting infrastructure to make the transition.

“The electricity sector provides wide-open access to decarbonization opportunities. “The technology is already available, there is potential for international funding such as JETP, there is already a supporting policy framework such as Presidential Decree 112/2022,” said Deon.

This is in line with the strategy prepared by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM). Gigih Udi Atmo, Director of Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources stated that the government’s priority is also the electricity sector.

“In the road map that we have drawn up, the power sector will have zero emissions before 2060, between 2057-2058. The rest is from the hard-to-abate sectors, such as industry and transportation,” he said.

The existence of the will and policy support for the transition is a good thing, but this is not enough by Adam Adiwinata, ASEAN Energy Transition Outlook Consultant, IRENA.

“The effectiveness and consistency of policies must be considered so that the energy transition occurs massively and accelerates. “Indonesia must be agile in looking at a policy, whether the policy can be improved or implemented to support the energy transition in Indonesia,” explained Adam.

A consistent policy framework is one of the enabling environment points to encourage massive penetration of renewable energy. This was stated by economist Faisal Basri, who is also a member of the Indonesia Clean Energy Forum.

“Often, Indonesia’s enabling environment makes it difficult to obtain funding. Policies that are prone to change make institutions or countries hesitate to give money to Indonesia,” said Faisal.

Faisal also added that commitments such as the implementation of a carbon tax which continue to be postponed show Indonesia’s weak commitment to the energy transition.

New Hope in Menamang Kanan

Samarinda, 7 September 2023 – Menamang Kanan Village is located in Muara Kaman District, Kutai Kartanegara Regency. It takes around 4 hours to travel from the city of Samarinda via road to reach this village. Until 2022, the people of Menamang Kanan rely on diesel generators from a company’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibilities) program to fulfill their access to electricity. Diesel will light up and be a source of lighting for residents for 4 hours every day.

The hope of having longer and better quality access to electricity is slowly starting to come to light in 2022. Through the East Kalimantan Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD), Menamang Kanan village received centralized solar PV installation of 87 kWp. Electricity from this PV is distributed to 600 families.

Even though we already have other energy sources, unfortunately the quality of electricity produced is only sufficient for lighting and basic electronics.

“Because we only produce 700 watts/day and it has to be used communally, so it can only be used for lights and fans at most, It can’t be used for TV or cooking rice, let alone the refrigerator,” explained Zapir, Menamang Kanan Village Secretary.

Zapir added that the people of Menamang Kanan hope to increase the electricity capacity they receive so that people can use electricity for other, more productive activities. Not limited to lighting.

The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) believes that the quality of electricity received by society needs to improve because if the electricity they receive is of low quality, society will not be able to carry out productive activities that can improve the economy. Decentralized power plants such as solar PV need to increase massively to supply electricity in rural areas.

Regional governments can utilize their authority in developing renewable energy as regulated in Presidential Decree Number 11 of 2023, in order to improve the quality of people’s access to electricity.

“This additional authority certainly needs to be followed by local government initiatives to design programs that also address the need to provide energy access, especially with local renewable energy. This principle of energy decentralization enables independent energy efforts with the involvement of many parties and is expected to improve community welfare with sustainable energy access,” explained Marlistya Citraningrum, Sustainable Energy Access Program Manager, Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) in the webinar “Energy Transition in Equity National Electrification”.

Decentralization of energy by utilizing renewable energy sources will open up opportunities for wider and participatory exploration of utilization so as to facilitate access to electricity and increase the reliability of its quality.

IETD 2023: Empowering the Acceleration of the Electricity Sector Transformation in Indonesia

Jakarta, September 13, 2023 – The Indonesia Clean Energy Forum (ICEF) and the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), are once again organizing the Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD) 2023 from September 18th to 20th, 2023, with the theme “Empowering the Acceleration of the Transformation of the Electricity Sector in Indonesia.” Both ICEF and IESR agree that the energy transition in Indonesia is inevitable, considering Indonesia’s commitment to contribute globally to emissions reduction through the ratification of the Paris Agreement under Law No. 16/2016.

Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of ICEF and IESR, stated during the Media Briefing on “Preparing for Indonesia’s Energy Transition and Anticipating Its Implications, and the Launch of the Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD) 2023″, that the theme of IETD 2023 focuses on the electricity sector, which is a strategic sector for transitioning towards renewable energy. He mentioned that the energy transition in the electricity sector is currently supported by technology availability, international funding potential such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), and supportive policy frameworks such as Presidential Regulation No. 112/2022.

He emphasized that the energy transition is a complex process with significant implications, requiring multi-stakeholder dialogue to anticipate and mitigate its impact in Indonesia, one of which is through the organization of IETD 2023.

“The Indonesian government is currently reviewing comprehensive planning documents and investment policies from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which include several agreed-upon targets, such as a peak electricity emission of 290 million tons of CO2 and a 34% renewable energy mix by 2030, as well as achieving net-zero carbon emissions (NZE) in the electricity sector by 2050. Therefore, we need to ensure that all these plans and targets are achieved through a fair process with the support of all stakeholders,” explained Fabby Tumiwa.

Gigih Udi Atmo, Director of Conservation at the Directorate General of Renewable Energy and Energy Conversion (EBTKE), Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), highlighted one of the efforts in energy transition, which is the development of renewable energy. According to him, the integration of renewable energy requires an expanded grid network to accommodate renewable energy sources.

“Connectivity through grid expansion that links load centers with renewable energy sources will be crucial in the future. The most feasible step in the near term is the interconnection between Sumatra and Java to enable the evacuation of solar, hydro, and geothermal-based renewable energy from Sumatra to supply the demand in Java. This way, power exchange and energy balance between the two largest grids in Indonesia can be optimized,” stated Gigih.

Gigih added that to achieve the net-zero carbon emissions (NZE) target, international support can accelerate the closure of coal-fired power plants. The type of international support, such as grant financing or soft loans, will determine the process of early cessation of coal-fired power plant operations by utilizing affordable financing to accelerate the investment recovery, allowing coal-fired power plant assets to cease operations earlier without violating existing cooperation agreements.

Deon Arinaldo, Energy Transformation Program Manager at IESR, mentioned that the government’s energy transition plans and strategies need to be supported and critiqued to expedite the process and make it smoother with better strategies and programs. Moreover, decarbonizing the electricity sector will serve as a driver for decarbonization in other sectors.

“In the energy transition process, it is also crucial to provide space for all actors to contribute meaningfully to the development of renewable energy. This means not only large industries but also local governments, small and medium-sized businesses, and communities need to play a role. In this regard, the strategy for ensuring access to renewable energy also deserves attention and should be part of a just transition,” Deon explained.

During the Media Discussion Forum on Indonesia’s Energy Transition, IESR and ICEF also announced the launch of the 6th Indonesia Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD), which will be held from September 18th to 20th. This event serves as a vital platform for discussing, sharing ideas, and generating real solutions to support the energy transition in Indonesia. IETD 2023 will bring together stakeholders, including the government, private sector, academia, and the general public, to discuss the challenges and opportunities in transitioning to cleaner and more sustainable energy.