Peluncuran & Diskusi Laporan Perencanaan Sistem Tenaga Listrik yang Selaras dengan Persetujuan Paris

Siaran Tunda

Pendahuluan 

Indonesia telah meratifikasi Perjanjian Paris melalui UU No. 16/2016. Sebagai hasilnya, Indonesia terikat secara hukum untuk berkontribusi dalam perjuangan global perubahan iklim melalui upaya dan tindakan yang ambisius dalam memitigasi emisi Gas Rumah Kaca (GRK) dan membatasi peningkatan suhu global rata-rata di bawah 1,5 derajat C. Dalam salah satu hasil model iklim IPCC untuk jalur yang kompatibel dengan 1,5 derajat C, emisi Gas Rumah Kaca (GRK) global harus turun 45% pada tahun 2030 dibandingkan dengan tahun 2010 dan mencapai emisi nol bersih pada tahun 2050. Saat ini, Indonesia termasuk dalam 10 besar penghasil emisi gas rumah kaca (GRK) dan masih diproyeksikan untuk meningkatkan emisinya, dengan sektor energi sebagai penyumbang GRK tertinggi pada tahun 2030. 

Dengan pangsa pembangkit listrik sebesar 66% pada tahun 2021, pembangkit listrik tenaga batubara telah menjadi penyumbang utama emisi sektor energi (sekitar 40%), dan bahkan 90% dari emisi sektor listrik. RUPTL PLN terbaru (RUPTL hijau) masih mempertimbangkan penambahan 13,8 GW PLTU Batubara dalam satu dekade ke depan. Porsi energi terbarukan hanya akan meningkat menjadi sekitar 24% pada tahun 2030 menurut rencana yang sama, yang mengakibatkan peningkatan emisi sektor listrik (dan sektor energi) secara keseluruhan. Dengan demikian, hal ini jelas bertentangan dengan mandat Perjanjian Paris. 

Menurut studi Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), secara teknis dan ekonomis, emisi sektor energi di Indonesia layak secara teknis dan ekonomis agar sesuai dengan Persetujuan Paris dan mencapai emisi nol pada tahun 2050. Salah satu tonggak penting adalah bahwa pangsa energi terbarukan dalam pembangkit listrik harus mencapai hampir setengahnya pada tahun 2030. Pada saat yang sama, elektrifikasi sektor transportasi dan industri juga akan meningkatkan pertumbuhan permintaan listrik total dan menciptakan ruang serta fleksibilitas yang diperlukan untuk integrasi energi terbarukan (variabel) yang tinggi. Dengan pertumbuhan permintaan listrik yang tinggi, kapasitas energi terbarukan dan pengembangan jaringan serta interkoneksi harus dikerahkan dalam kecepatan yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya, mencapai 140 GW pada tahun 2030 (peningkatan empat belas kali lipat dari kapasitas saat ini). 

Namun, integrasi energi terbarukan yang tinggi dalam sistem jaringan listrik berbasis kepulauan di Indonesia dianggap menantang. Perencanaan sistem tenaga listrik saat ini masih melihat sebagian kecil energi terbarukan, terutama energi terbarukan variabel (surya dan angin), yang akan beroperasi dalam sepuluh tahun ke depan. Selain itu, PLN sebagai operator jaringan listrik memiliki pengalaman yang terbatas dalam mengoperasikan jaringan listrik dengan porsi energi terbarukan yang tinggi. Studi dan pemodelan yang menunjukkan analisis tekno-ekonomi yang terperinci tentang pengoperasian energi terbarukan dengan porsi yang tinggi dalam sistem jaringan listrik nasional juga masih terbatas. 

Masih banyak tantangan lain yang perlu dihadapi. Hal ini menunjukkan pentingnya analisis komparatif perencanaan sistem tenaga listrik saat ini dengan perencanaan yang selaras dengan jalur 1,5 derajat C. Memahami perbedaan dalam hal biaya, tantangan teknis, pengurangan emisi, dan kelayakan dapat memperluas pilihan dalam perencanaan sistem tenaga listrik di masa depan di negara ini. Lebih jauh lagi, sebagaimana studi IESR Dekarbonisasi Mendalam Sistem Energi Indonesia menunjukkan, Indonesia dapat memperoleh manfaat tambahan seperti harga yang lebih kompetitif serta manfaat sosial-ekonomi lainnya (pekerjaan ramah lingkungan), sambil mengatasi krisis iklim secara bersamaan. 

Dengan latar belakang ini, IESR telah menyelesaikan analisis perencanaan sistem tenaga listrik, rencana perluasan kapasitas, dan uji keandalan sistem tenaga listrik dengan menggunakan PLEXOS dan DIgSILENT yang bertujuan untuk mengintegrasikan energi terbarukan untuk mengurangi emisi GRK secara keseluruhan dari sektor ini. IESR akan mengadakan webinar untuk meluncurkan laporan tersebut berjudul “Enabling high share of renewable energy in Indonesia’s power system by 2030: Alternative electricity development plan compatible with the Paris Agreement”, dan mengundang para pemangku kepentingan terkait untuk berdiskusi dan menyusun rekomendasi untuk dekarbonisasi sistem tenaga listrik. 

 

Tujuan

Tujuan dari peluncuran laporan dan webinar diskusi adalah sebagai berikut: 

  1. Untuk memberikan alternatif perencanaan sistem tenaga listrik berbasis penelitian yang dapat mendorong kemajuan Indonesia dalam upaya pengurangan emisi sektor energi kepada pemangku kepentingan yang lebih luas. 
  2. Untuk memberikan masukan bagi perencanaan sistem tenaga listrik yang diperbarui (RUPTL 2023-2032), yang diharapkan akan berjalan pada awal tahun 2023 
  3. Untuk mendiskusikan potensi tantangan dan peluang untuk mengatasi tantangan dalam mengintegrasikan pangsa energi terbarukan yang tinggi dalam sistem tenaga listrik. 

Materi Presentasi

Akbar Bagaskara – Penulis Studi, Peneliti Sistem Ketenagalistrikan, IESR

“Enabling High Share of RE in Indonesia Power System”

221124-Alternative-RUPTL-1

Unduh

Dadan Kusdiana – Plt Dirjen Ketenagalistrikan, Kementerian ESDM

“Enabling High Share of RE in Indonesia Power System”

221124-0016-PPT-Keynote-Speech-IESR-1

Unduh

 

Looking Closer to the Renewable Energy Development in the Industrial and Community Sectors in Central Java

Central Java, November 11, 2022 –  The Central Java provincial government is committed to supporting and encouraging renewable energy development from the industrial sector to the community level. It can be seen in several companies and villages implementing renewable energy in their environment. Renewable energy is generated from natural processes that are continuously replenished. Renewable energy includes solar, geothermal heat, wind, tides, water, and biomass. 

The Central Java Energy and Mineral Resources Department and the Institute for Essential Service Reform (IESR) held the Central Java Energy Exploration for two days, November 10 and November 11, 2022, with the theme “Energy Transition to Build an Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Industry.” Participants visited two companies and villages implementing renewable energy on the second day, PT. Sarihusada Generasi Mahardhika – Prambanan Factory, PT. Tirta Investama-Klaten Aqua Factory, and Ngesrep Balong Kendal Village PLTMH.

Utilization of Rice Husk as Energy

Sarihusada Generasi Mahardhika – Prambanan Factory inaugurated the construction of a rice husk-fired Biomass Boiler in June 2022. The biomass boiler will use 10,500 tons of rice husk annually and can produce up to 6 tons of steam per hour. With this ability, it’s no wonder this rice husk-fired industrial biomass boiler is claimed to be the first in Central Java.

Rice husk is an agricultural waste sourced from several areas in Central Java Province, including the surrounding agricultural land within this Biomass boiler facility, which is one of the most significant contributors to rice production nationally. Joko Yulianto, Plant Manager of Sarihusada Prambanan Factory, stated that the biomass boiler operated by Sarihusada could reduce carbon emissions by 8,300 tons of CO2 or the equivalent of carbon emissions absorbed through planting 120,000 trees. It also reduces the carbon footprint generated from the production process at the Prambanan Factory by up to 32%.

“Biomass boilers are an alternative to environmentally friendly technology. The energy produced comes from natural renewable sources. In the form of biological elements such as dead organisms or living plants, “explained Joko Yulianto.

The IESR Study 2021 assesses the potential for biomass in Indonesia to reach around 30.73 GW, but the efficiency is still in the range of 20-35 percent. The use of biomass in the industrial sector is becoming increasingly popular with the emergence of sustainable business targets. Therefore it must ensure a reliable supply chain to ensure the availability of biomass sources. Biomass feedstocks include crop residues and other plantation product wastes such as oil palm, coconut, and sugarcane.

Solar Power Plants in the AQUA factory in Klaten

Meanwhile, PT. Tirta Investama-Aqua Factory, Klaten, inaugurated a rooftop solar power plant (PLTS atap) in 2020. The rooftop solar PV installed at the AQUA factory in Klaten consists of 8,340 modules of solar panels in four roof buildings covering an area of ​​16,550m2, with a peak power of around 350 watts per unit.

“This solar power plants can generate 4 GWh (Gigawatt hour) electricity per year which can supply 15-20% of electricity needs for operations while reducing 3,340 tons of carbon emissions per year. It was built starting in August 2019 and required 187,200 working hours carried out by 130 workers with zero accidents,” said I Ketut Muwaranata, Plant Director AQUA Klaten. 

Based on the latest IESR report entitled Indonesia Solar Energy Outlook 2023, the industrial and commercial sectors are the biggest drivers of solar power plant use, reaching up to 23 MWp in October 2022. In addition to sustainable business targets, especially for companies that are members of the RE100 coalition, renewable energy also reduces production costs. Innovative financing schemes, such as the zero-CAPEX offered by many solar PV developers, increase the attractiveness of rooftop PV mini-grid for industrial customers.

In the last three years, the growth of rooftop solar PV users in the industrial sector has increased, and when the 10 to 15 percent limit of capacity currently imposed by PLN continues, this trend will change and even decrease. This is unfortunate and does not support the various energy transition commitments from the government and companies, who cooperate in realizing Indonesia’s net zero emission.

PLTMH Lights Ngesrepbalong Villages’s Road

Based on the 2021 IESR study, the technical potential for micro-mini hydropower in Indonesia reaches 28.1 GW in all Indonesian provinces. In Central Java, the technical potential of micro-mini hydropower comes to 730.3 MW. If this potential is utilized optimally, it will increase the productivity of rural communities, thereby encouraging access to quality and affordable energy and improving the economy and people’s welfare.

The Micro Hydro Power Plant (PLTMH), Ngesrepbalong Village, Kendal Regency, was developed by the youth around 2020 and used for electricity at the Pucue Kendal Coffee shop, which is located on the northern slope of Mount Ungaran. In the process, the village youth got the state-owned company, Indonesia Power, to look at and help their businesses realize independent energy.

The PLTMH in Ngesrepbalong Village, Kendal Regency, has a capacity of around 1,000 watts and can turn on dozens of lights to illuminate the 200-meter road to the coffee shop and turn on the coffee processing equipment in the shop.

The Central Java Energy Exploration event was held to raise the issue of energy transition in Central Java based on the green industry and the Climate Village program. It also disseminates information regarding the urgency of the energy transition to the public, increasing exposure to the green industry and the Climate Village program in Central Java.

What can the G20 Power Utility Companies do to Address the Climate Crisis?

Bali, 29 August 2022 – The electricity sector is one of the biggest emitters after the forest and land use sectors. As the window of opportunity to keep the global temperature at the 1.5 degrees level is getting tighter, the urge to decarbonize the electricity sector is becoming more and more crucial. Power utility companies will be the main driver of the decarbonization effort to reach net zero emissions. 

Philippe Benoit, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University, during the seminar “The Role of G20 Power Utilities in Climate Mitigation Effort” hosted by C20, emphasizes the importance to reform state-owned power companies (SPC), realizing its roles as power producers, power purchasers, and network owner/operator to accelerate the energy transition.

“SPCs are multidimensional. When we talk about decarbonization we have to think about SPC as they are the ones who will set the pace of decarbonization,” he said.

Philippe continued that market-based scenarios such as carbon tax, carbon trading, and regulatory pricing can be an instrument to influence SPCs to decarbonize. Moreover, the government can also make resources available to SPCs by supporting them, doing advocacy and directly exercising government shareholder power.

Mahmoud Mohieldin, High-Level COP 27 Champion Egypt, proposed several points to address, including the comprehensive energy policy covering fossil fuel phase-out, energy access and the development of green hydrogen. 

“The budget of the state should reflect the priority of the climate agenda in SDGs development framework.”

On the same occasion, Joojin Kim, Managing Director of Solution for Our Climate (SFOC), South Korea, presented the fact that currently, renewable energy is facing some curtailments in several regions to avoid ‘unsold’ energy.

“Globally, there is a significant increase of renewable capacity but mostly built in either the US or Europe. To keep the balance between supply and demand in electricity, some areas start to apply curtailment to renewable energy,” he said.

Joojin said that this condition is not conducive to reaching the net zero target. To align with the 1.5-degree Celcius pathways, the G20 country must have 75% renewable energy in 2040. According to him both South Korea and Indonesia are not in a good situation to reach that if there is no urgent action taken.

According to Dennis Volk, Head of Division Bundesnetzazagenturn (BNetZa), Germany, political will from the government is the key to decarbonising the electricity sector.

“A strong political commitment is needed to drive the electricity sector to the decarbonization path. The second important thing is the supporting scheme including financing,” said Dennis.

Youngjin Chae, Vice President of Strategy and Planning Korea Power Exchange (KPX), South Korea, explained that currently there are around 19% of renewables in South Korea. Issues related to flexibility, storage, and feasibility are what become a concern as renewable energy is locally concentrated.

Indonesia is planning to achieve carbon neutrality in 2060 or sooner. PLN as the nation’s power utilities company, through its Director of Corporate Planning, Evy Haryadi, said that PLN needs to build 413 GW of power capacity with around 75% renewables and 19 GW of interconnection for net zero in 2060.

“We (PLN) think that at least five major things should be transformed, from the battery storage system, interconnection, green industry cluster, coal retirement mechanism, to new technology development,” Evy concluded.

A couple of serious challenges are faced by countries in developing renewable energy. Considering each situation, every country must figure out the solution as the IPCC has warned that our carbon budget is limited.

“Every country must be able to answer the issue of solving climate change, customer demand for reliable and affordable electricity, workforce needs to upgrade their skills, regulation from the government, and more technology to provide green energy,” Fabby Tumiwa, the Executive Director of IESR concluded.

Significant Roles of Subnational Governments to Lead the Decentralization of Energy Transition

press release

Bali, 30 August 2022–The post-pandemic economic recovery by staying focused on making ambitious climate mitigation efforts through low-carbon development is a step that needs to be taken by local governments. The success of low-carbon development is also inseparable from planning for a just energy transition. The commitment of various parties, including local governments and communities to promoting the energy transition, is crucial considering that decentralization of the energy transition will have multiple impacts.

The Governor of Central Java, Ganjar Pranowo, said that through the Central Java Energy and Mineral Resources Office, he was actively pushing for energy transition efforts in his region. Energy transition policy instruments such as governor’s circular letters, regional secretaries, and various initiatives such as the declaration of Central Java to become a solar province in 2019, are ways to attract the private sector and the public to utilize renewable energy through the adoption of rooftop solar. Until Q2 2022, the total installed PLTS capacity in Central Java Province reached 22 MWp. The Central Java Provincial Government also supports the use of other renewable energy that is abundantly available, such as livestock manure biogas and micro hydro power plant(MHP), with government programs or encouraging community collaboration.

“Asymmetric decentralization by inclusion with (treatment-red) specifically in every location. With collective awareness, the potential for renewable energy in the area is checked and stimulated,” said Ganjar. This, according to Ganjar, will encourage a faster transformation.

Central Java’s climate commitment is also shown by starting to use electric vehicles as provincial government official vehicles.

Togap Simangunsong, Expert Staff of the Minister of Home Affairs for Social Affairs and Inter-Institutional Relations, Ministry of Home Affairs appreciated the good practices carried out by the Central Java Provincial government. He said that his party and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources are currently drafting a Presidential Regulation that strengthens the authority of regional/provincial governments in the administration of government affairs in the field of energy, mineral resources, and sub-sector of new and renewable energy.

“Through this, it is hoped that local governments can provide support in efforts to achieve the target of the new renewable energy mix as an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that local government commitments are made to accelerate energy justice following their authority,” said Togap representing the Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian in a webinar entitled “Energy Transitional Decentralization: Increasing the role of communities and local government” organized by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) and the Central Java Provincial Government.

In addition, Chrisnawan Anditya, Head of the Planning Bureau, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that the utilization of renewable energy potential will open up opportunities in building a green national economy and as an effort to recover the economy after the pandemic under the G20 Presidency’s theme, “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.

“Each region has a special new renewable energy potential that can be used to improve the welfare of local communities. The difference in the potential for new and renewable energy between regions is a technical challenge, as well as a great opportunity for our energy system. This condition allows the sharing of energy based on new and renewable energy when the area experiences energy abundance or scarcity. For this to happen, an integrated electric power system (smart grid and super grid) is needed,” explained Chrisnawan on the same occasion.

Furthermore, strong leadership at the regional level will be able to mobilize the community to make the cooperation of energy transition. This was stated by Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of IESR. He said the initiative and leadership of the local government will be able to answer the problem of access and security of energy supply by utilizing the abundant renewable energy potential in the area.

“Indonesia’s energy transition requires the construction of hundreds or even thousands of gigawatts, renewable energy generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure and energy storage systems. But by starting to divide it into small units, the big problems can be more easily solved and carried out by more parties,” said Fabby.

He added, based on the IESR study, that the decarbonization of the energy system in Indonesia will cost USD 1.3 trillion by 2050, with an average investment requirement of USD 30-50 billion per year. This amount is 150%-200% of the current total investment in the entire energy sector.

“This investment need is costly and cannot be borne solely by the government and SOEs. But this large investment can be met if we take into account the potential of the contribution and innovation power of the community as well as the capabilities of local governments. Citizens’ contributions and innovations can mobilize funding from the government, local government and village governments, as well as funding from the private sector and non-governmental institutions,” he added.

Bali is the first province in Indonesia to have a special governor regulation for clean energy and electric vehicles. In the Governor’s Regulation on Bali Clean Energy, the Governor of Bali encourages the use of renewable energy for various sectors, especially rooftop solar power plants. This effort is carried out to realize the vision of low carbon development in Bali and concrete steps for sustainable tourism.

“Due to the pandemic, Bali’s tourism has stumbled, after the pandemic, Bali has started to rise. Several tips have been implemented, such as the governor’s regulations and circulars regarding the adoption of rooftop solar power plants. Actually, the main target is tourism, but first, do a pilot in the government,” said Ida Ayu, Expert Staff to the Governor of Bali.

The plans and steps for achieving renewable energy targets in the Regional Energy General Plan (RUED) are also carried out by the Jambi Provincial government. The Governor of Jambi, Al Haris, through the Deputy Governor of Jambi, Abdullah Sani, emphasized his commitment to work together with the central and private parties to develop regional energy transitions because the resources they have are very sufficient, only to use and transform natural resources into energy that can be enjoyed by the Jambi community in particular.

The Jambi Provincial Government through the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources has also collaborated with IESR for the implementation of RUED and energy conservation efforts within the local government. Currently, the Governor of Jambi is in the process of issuing a governor regulation for the use of PV mini-grid as a substitute for energy subsidies.

The use of CCS needs careful consideration

Author : Aditya Perdana Putra Purnomo (Research team intern 2022)
Editor: Pamela Simamora

The use of fossil fuels since the beginning of the industrial revolution has been shown to increase anthropogenic1 carbon dioxide emissions that are responsible for an upsurge in the earth’s surface temperature by 1.07 °C from 1850 to 1990.The increase in temperature harms the environment, causing events such as droughts, forest fires, flooding, and erosion of some coastlines. 

Besides using renewable energy, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is considered capable of helping in reducing world carbon emissions. CCS is a technology used to capture carbon dioxide from exhaust gasses, then transport and store the carbon dioxide gas in particular storage locations (usually underground) to avoid its negative impact released into the atmosphere.2 . 

 Figure 1. CCS Schematic Diagram (Choudary,2016)

By 2021, there are 31 CCS projects in commercial operation worldwide, and more than 90 other projects are still under development. This figure continues to increase and is the highest for the last 5 (five) years. Beside being caused by ongoing research, the increase in the number of projects is also inseparable from the support from various countries for CCS technology as an option to reduce carbon emissions.

Indonesia, as one of the largest carbon dioxide emitting countries in the world, has also begun to plan the use of CCS, especially in the electricity sector. This strategy is questionable given that CCS prices are and will remain uncompetitive against renewable energy plus storage. If CCS is installed, supercritical CFPP LCOE will double from EUR 40 per MWh to EUR 80 per MWh (USD 92 per MWh) even if transport and storage costs of CO2 remain low at around EUR 10 per tonne. In this case, the avoided CO2-eq cost is more than EUR 55 per tonne (USD 64 per tonne).

 

Figure 2. CCS Schematic Diagram of a Coal-fired Power Plant (Global CCS Institute, 20213 )

One of the CCS projects in the electricity sector, the Petra Nova project in the United States, is predicted to be the trigger for the development of CCS in the electricity sector around the world. Unfortunately, the CCS at this 240 MW power plant experienced a 30% blackout before it was finally discontinued in 2020. Since its inauguration in 2017, from the target of capturing 4.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide for 3 years of operation, the Petra Nova project has only succeeded capture 3.54 million metric tons of CO2, or 16% of the target.

Analysis from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) shows the poor performance has cost investors more than $23 million over the project’s three-year operation. In addition, during its lifetime, the Petra Nova project also generated more than 1.1 million metric tons of CO2 through the use of gas turbines for CCS power purposes. Learning from this case, Indonesia needs to reconsider the use of CCS in coal-fired power plants.

Another project, the Boundary Dam coal-fired power plant in Canada, also uses CCS to capture GHG generated from the electricity production of this 160 MW power plant. Equal to the Petra Nova project, the Boundary Dam project has also never operated according to its target of capturing 3200 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. Judging from the achievement of annual carbon capture, the project is only able to capture carbon emissions of around 40 to 60% of the target. Even in the most productive year, the achievement was still far below the target of 3200 metric tons per year. This record was exacerbated by last year’s sluggish performance caused by a 3-month blackout of the CCS unit. The first outages took place from mid-June to July due to routine maintenance. However, shortly thereafter, a compressor failure4 brought the project to a complete shutdown from August to September 2021.

Figure 3. Achievement of Carbon Capture, Boundary Dam Project 2014-2021 (Schissel, 2021) 

In other sectors, such as industry, CCS is considered one of the most effective solutions to reduce GHG emissions. The use of CCS in the industrial sector started in 1971 when the world’s first commercial CCS was operated at Terrell Gas Processing5 in Texas, United States of America. CCS, which is valued at 7.6 million6 is still operating today. The project with a capacity of 0.4 MTPA7 is operated to capture CO2 emissions from the local gas processing industry and use this catch to increase oil well production through the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)8 . Another CCS project in the United States is at a fertilizer plant called Enid Fertilizer, that has been operating for 40 years. This project utilizes CO2 from the manufacture of fertilizer/ammonia to sell to oil and gas production wells in Oklahoma that carry out the EOR process.

From the case study above, several things need to be considered by policy makers in Indonesia to apply CCS in Indonesia. First, the use of CCS in steam power plants, apart from being expensive, also often experiences technical problems, resulting in not achieving the CO2 capture target promised by the developer. Second, the revenue from the sale of CO2 for EOR is the prime driver of CCS projects in the industrial sector in America. Although there is no publicly available data, CO2 prices for EOR are closely related to oil prices. For instance, with an oil price of US$70 per barrel, the CO2 price for EOR is around US$30/tCO2 (Bliss, et al., 2010). Therefore, the implementation of CCS in the industrial sector (and other sectors) requires a high carbon value which can ensure that the carbon values covers the costs of capturing and transporting CO2.*** 

 

Footnote:

 

Indonesia Needs to Ramp Up Renewable Energy Installations up to 10 times to achieve Net Zero Emissions

Jakarta, 22 March 2022 – Indonesia through its LTS-LCCR (Long Term Strategy Low Carbon Climate Resilience) document states that it will achieve carbon neutral status in 2060 or sooner. The capacity of fossil energy in Indonesia’s energy system, especially electricity, is highlighted because with the aim of becoming carbon neutral, Indonesia must immediately retire most of its coal-fired power plants.

At the A Just Energy Transition: Matching Learning Curves from Germany and Indonesia Symposium held online on March 22, 2022, Ottmar Edenhofer, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, explained that in order to achieve the emission reduction target of the Paris Agreement, the Southeast Asia region must reduce coal capacity by 60% within this decade.

“Coal absorbs a large portion of our carbon budget, to maintain our carbon budget reserves, we have to significantly reduce the current coal capacity,” said Ottmar.

Holding the G20 Presidency, Indonesia has made a just energy transition one of its priority issues. Just like Indonesia in the G20-presidency, Germany, which holds the G7 presidency at this time, has also made the energy transition one of the main topics. The similarity of the main agenda of the two alliances of countries with the highest economic growth in the world must be an accelerator of the global energy transition in general, especially in Indonesia.

Patrick Graichen, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, sees this common vision as a good thing, but also needs to be coupled with efforts to bring it down into action.

“We need strong leadership, a clear carbon-neutral vision in a country, and policy and financial support to quickly reach our carbon-neutral targets,” he explained.

The Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), Fabby Tumiwa, on the same occasion said that currently Indonesia needs to reconsider its relationship with coal. Dominating Indonesia’s electricity sector for more than 60%, coal retirement is one of Indonesia’s key decarbonization strategies as well as the key to achieving the Paris Agreement targets for Indonesia.

“Indonesia’s emission reduction actions referring to the LTS-LCCR document are not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement targets, we need even more ambitious efforts,” explained Fabby.

Fabby explained that currently one of the issues facing Indonesia is related to electricity infrastructure which is designed for coal-fired power plants. PLN itself still has an obligation to build a coal power plant which has entered the contract period as part of the 35 GW project launched by the government in 2015. One of the impacts of this mega-project is that several CFPP units are still relatively new, which results in higher retirement costs.

“The current situation for PLN itself is quite difficult, but we have to start anyway. With the support of the right policies, we can do it,” explained Fabby.

Energy transition is one of the main issues in global forums, one of which is the G20. If the G20 countries are serious about pushing for an energy transition, this must also be accompanied by policy support. It is important to provide a comprehensive energy transition package to ensure that the transition is fair and just and does not leave any party in trouble as a result of this transition. Stefan Schurig, Secretary General of F20, also highlighted the role of the G20 countries which is still not optimal in encouraging the energy transition.

“Keeping the temperature rise at 1.5 degrees is still an option for us right now, and we can still work on it together,” Stefan said.

Energy Crisis in UK and Europe: Lessons learned for Indonesia’s energy transition

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Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy (CASE) for Southeast Asia (SEA) is a regional programme running in Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. CASE’s objective is to change the direction of the energy sector in Southeast Asia to substantially shift towards an evidence-based energy transition, aiming to increase political ambition to comply with the Paris Agreement.

Through CASE Indonesia, we would like to organize a discussion with speakers from the UK, and Europe representative to discuss what happens and what are the lessons learned. Indonesia does not have winter and reliance on natural gas is still small. However, with more intermittent power plants (e.g. solar) are planned to be installed, the government looks at using gas-fired power plants to balance this intermittency. We also hope this discussion will help set the right direction for the Indonesian energy transition.

Presentation Materials

Aquatera

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Agora Energiewende

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ECA

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