The operation of Cirata floating photovoltaic (PV) power plant, West Java, is a milestone in the acceleration of solar PV development to decarbonize electricity in Indonesia. Going forward, Indonesia must optimize the potential of solar PV to support the achievement of the electricity sector’s peak emission target in 2030, at the lowest cost.
Read more on Koran Jakarta.
Jakarta, November 9, 2023 – Solar power has the potential to accelerate renewable energy in Indonesia’s primary energy mix. However, developing the country’s solar power plants has proved challenging. The Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), Fabby Tumiwa, explained that Indonesia has the highest potential in solar energy. An IESR study shows that solar power in Indonesia could reach a technical potential and land suitability of 3,000-20,000 GWp. Despite this potential, there are regulatory challenges to developing solar energy in the country, particularly regarding solar PV. In 2022, the realized installed capacity of solar PV was only 271.6 MW, which was far below the planned capacity of 893.3 MW, based on data from the Directorate General of EBTKE of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
“Solar PV utilization is currently limited to around 10-15% of its capacity, which makes the economics of solar PV low and unattractive. In 2021-2022, the growth of rooftop solar PV has stagnated. However, since the beginning of this year, there have been efforts to revise the regulations to prevent uncertainty. The revision process is long and has even been discussed at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham). Unfortunately, the process has not been completed yet and still requires further coordination between Ministries and Institutions,” said Fabby Tumiwa at Thursday’s Smart Transportation and Energy in Indonesia press conference (9/11/2023).
Fabby Tumiwa mentioned the uncertainty must be resolved immediately with strong leadership from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). Additionally, on Thursday (9/11/2023), Indonesia unveiled the Cirata Floating Solar Power Plant, which has a capacity of 192 MWp, making it the biggest floating solar power plant in Southeast Asia.
“The inauguration of the Cirata Floating Solar Power Plant signifies the Indonesian Government’s commitment to developing solar energy. This project could not have been completed without the use of advanced technology and innovation from China, the world’s largest producer of solar energy technology. Considering Indonesia’s plan to increase the usage of renewable energy, we anticipate a significant demand for solar power plants in the coming years,” explained Fabby Tumiwa.
Jakarta, 5 October 2023 – Energy is a basic human need not only to support daily activities but more importantly to increase productive activities. Solar energy is a renewable energy source that can realize energy democratization.
Solar energy fulfills several aspects for the democratization of energy such as the availability of resources throughout the year, and the flexibility of the scale of installation. For a nobler goal, by installing solar panels, users contribute to reducing emissions from the energy sector. These various reasons show that motivations for using solar PV can vary.
This is in line with the findings of a market survey conducted by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), one of which explored respondents’ motivations for using solar PV. Marlistya Citraningrum, IESR Sustainable Energy Access Program Manager, in the Seminar ‘Solar Energy Policy and Action Plan as a Form of NRE Commitment towards Indonesia’, Thursday 5 October 2023, explained that motivations can vary from one region to another.
“MSMEs in Central Java choose rooftop PV because they are interested in the savings so that their electricity bill money can be allocated to other things. Meanwhile, business people in Bali have a high awareness of maintaining harmony with nature. “Apart from that, they will get positive branding as an environmentally friendly business entity,” said Marlistya.
To increase public interest in using solar energy, several things need to be done by stakeholders, including the government, in creating an ecosystem that supports the growth of renewable energy.
Three things that must be pursued to encourage participation by more parties are first, regulations that are clear and supportive and well communicated so that the public gets information about rooftop PV regulations easily and without confusion. Second, there are examples of users and easy access to service providers; third, provide incentives and increase access to financing.
In the same forum, Dedi Rustandi, Intermediate Expert Planner Coordinator for NRE at the Ministry of Bappenas stated that solar energy achievements were still below RUPTL target.
“There are a number of main causes, including the pandemic which has prevented electricity demand from growing significantly, there is uncertainty in the investment climate for the business, as well as delays in project procurement (related to governance),” said Dedi.
Dedi admitted that there are still a number of inefficient policies, resulting in the use of solar energy not being optimal in Indonesia.
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.
The three-story building in the Pertamina Hulu Mahakam Complex in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, appears somewhat similar to other buildings in its surroundings.
Read more on Kompas.
IESR urges the Indonesian government to address the solar energy supply chain during the upcoming ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM).
Read more on Kata Data.
Jakarta, July 26, 2023 – Solar energy must be accelerated to achieve a renewable energy mix of 23% by 2025 and reach net zero emissions by 2060 or earlier. Unfortunately, renewable energy had only made up approximately 12.3% of the national energy mix by 2022.
Director of Various New Energy and Renewable Energy, Directorate General of EBTKE, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Andriah Feby Misna explained various programs are continuously being encouraged to utilize solar energy. Whether through a large-scale solar power plant (solar PV) program, floating solar PV, or rooftop solar PV. From a regulatory standpoint, said Feby, the revision to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 26 of 2021 concerning Rooftop Solar PV Connected to the Electric Power Network Holders of Business Licenses to Provide Electricity for Public Interest (IUPTLU) has been harmonized by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
“We have harmonized the revised ESDM Regulation 26/2021 with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Hopefully, it can be enacted shortly. Some of the content that has been changed in the revision of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources 26/2021 includes the provisions on the capacity that may be installed; in this revision, we do not limit the capacity they can install but must follow the existing quota. So as long as the quota exists, regardless of capacity demand, it must be met according to the existing quota,” said Feby in a panel discussion entitled “Solar regulations, implementation, plans” at the Indonesia Solar Summit event organized by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources together with IESR.
In addition, Feby mentioned, the revision of the ESDM Permen also regulates changes related to exports and imports. Considering that currently, PLN is experiencing a surplus and PLN’s limitations in being able to accept intermittent generators, for this reason, there is no change to this Ministerial Regulation for exports. It remains connected to PLN, but when there are exports, this does not count as a reduction in consumer bills.
“With no export-import recognition in the revised ESDM Permen 26/2021, it is not interesting, but at least the current regulation opens an opportunity for the industry to be interested in installing rooftop PLTS because this is indeed market demand. In the future, the revision of this Ministerial Regulation will be reviewed again and can open up exports and imports again,” said Feby.
Member of the National Energy Council, Herman Darnel Ibrahim, criticized the contents of the revised ESDM Ministerial Regulation 26/2021 which removed the rules for exporting electricity to PLN. According to Herman, this shows Indonesia’s step towards the world where it will not develop a rooftop PLTS, even though the potential is enormous and there is no land lease.
“The projection is that solar energy will be the main one in the electricity sector. Solar energy figures (in the latest national energy policy (KEN)-red) are projected in 2060 to be around 500-600 GW. In the old national energy policy (KEN) in 2050 (solar energy-ed) 120 GW, but the realization is not fast enough,” said Herman.
Norman Ginting, Director of Projects and Operations of Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (Pertamina NRE) explained his party is committed to supporting the government to achieve the net zero emission (NZE) target in 2060 or sooner. One of these efforts is to start building a portfolio in solar energy, including solar cell technology.
“We have completed more than 50 megawatts of PLTS, one of which is the largest internal Pertamina Hulu Rokan with a total planned installed capacity of 25 megawatts. In addition, Pertamina has a great interest in how to run and implement green hydrogen from solar power because we see that green hydrogen is easier in the shifting process,” said Norman.
Furthermore, Norman highlighted that society and industry have been waiting for electricity based on renewable energy. Opportunities for developing solar PV are extensive, both on-grid and off-grid. For this reason, his party needs even more massive support in developing solar energy in Indonesia.
Ashwin Balasubramanian, Associate Partner of McKinsey stated that solar energy’s technical potential is significant, more than 3000 GW. The projection is that more than 400 GW will need to be built in 30-40 years. This is also a great investment opportunity and contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP) by opening up new jobs.
“If we look at Vietnam and Thailand, they have developed 10-15 times. India developed more than 16 GW. It shows it is possible with the right conditions and aspirations,” said Ashwin.
Jakarta, 25 July 2023 – Southeast Asia has emerged as a focal point for both economic development, and energy growth. The increasing energy demand within the ASEAN region is to be expected to be met through the expansion of renewable energy. Notably, certain ASEAN countries have achieved noteworthy progress in renewable energy development, exemplified by Vietnam’s exponential growth in solar energy over recent years.
Fabby Tumiwa, the Executive Director of Institute for Essentials Services Reform and the Chairman of The Indonesia Solar Energy Association said that ASEAN must establish strong cooperation in developing solar PV manufacturing capability.
“Southeast Asia countries must ensure affordable access to this technology by establishing a solar PV manufacturing and supply chain that includes silicon ingots, wafers, cells, and other components such as low-tempered iron glass, as well as the balance of system components such as inverters and controllers,” he said.
Fabby added that Southeast Asia has the potential to become a solar PV manufacturing hub, supplying both domestic and global demand. Currently, seven Southeast Asia countries already have manufacturing capacity in various stages, with a total annual capacity of 70 GW of solar module production, with Vietnam supplying half of this capacity.
Monika Merdekawati, research analyst for sustainable renewable energy development, ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) during the ASEAN Solar Summit 2023 explained that while solar energy adoption in ASEAN is on the rise, the pace of progress is insufficient to accelerate the energy transition. Vietnam’s remarkable strides in augmenting its solar capacity have been associated by diversification efforts in its renewable energy development plan in its PDP8 (Vietnam’s energy planning).
“It’s similar to Thailand who started to look for biomass development in its priority program plan,” said Monika.
She further highlighted the necessity for Indonesia to devise innovative strategies to attain its goal of achieving a 23% renewable energy mix in 2025.
Within the context of Indonesia, the state-owned utility company PT PLN heavily relies on the 2021-2030 RUPTL (Electricity Supply Business Plan) famously recognized as “green RUPTL” to expedite its renewable energy endeavors. Warsono, the EVP for electricity System Planning, PT PLN on the same occasion said that PLN aims to incorporate5 GW of renewables by 2030.
“The main challenge to deploy renewables, particularly solar, is the fulfillment of local content requirements of the PV component. It means we need to grow the local industry for solar PV components,” he said. Furthermore, PLN is committed to ensuring equilibrium between energy supply and demand of energy.
Mohammad Nazri bin Mizayauddin, Chief Strategy Officer Sustainable Energy Development Authority, Malaysia shared his view on Malaysia strategy to enhance renewable energy penetration.
“People usually look at the large-scale ground mounted solar PV, but now let’s realize the other potential in the solar rooftop. The rooftop itself is an asset,” he said.
According to Nazri, Malaysia has been facing issues related with the energy subsidy therefore the Government must make sure that the market is mature enough to slowly detach the subsidy.
Eka Satria, Director and CEO of Medco Power Indonesia presented the indispensable correlation between growth of the solar PV component industry and expanding market demand. He stressed the importance of compiling and implementing a comprehensive roster of potential projects to instill investor confidence.
“To accelerate solar energy deployment, we need a strong PV industry in Indonesia. To grow the PV industry a long list of committed projects to guarantee the investors that their money wouldn’t be lost,” Eka explained.
Eko Agus Nugroho Director of Machinery and Agricultural Machinery Industry, Ministry of Industry agreed that the solar cell technology is advancing rapidly, urging Indonesia to accelerate its pace in keeping up with the advancement.
“There are 21 local producers making solar modules currently and the total capacity is still below 500 WP. The ministry wants to map the capability of the (solar) industries to fulfill the need from the PLN and other developers,” he said.
Eko also revealed plans for the upcoming announcement of a consortium dedicated to local solar industry manufacture in the ensuing months.
Semarang, 4 July 2023 – Electricity is not only the essential need for households, but also drives economic activity to a large industrial scale. In addition to the need for a reliable electricity supply, large-scale industries are starting to pay attention to the source of the electricity supply. In fact, for export-oriented industries, the production process needs to be carried out with minimal emissions in advance since the implementation of carbon footprint calculations on products exported to certain countries. This means that goods or components of goods produced n from fossil energy generation will receive a higher carbon tax.
Central Java Province, which is currently developing a number of regional industries, pays close attention to the development of alternative energy sources other than fossils. This was said by the Deputy Governor of Central Java, Taj Yasin Maimoen, in his remarks at the Central Java Renewable Energy Investment Forum 2023 which was organized by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) in collaboration with the Central Java Energy and Mineral Resources Provincial Office, Tuesday 4 July 2023.
“The growth of industrial infrastructure is accompanied by high growth in energy needs. Currently it is not just energy, but energy that comes from new, renewable energy,” said Taj Yasin.
Taj Yasin added that Central Java has abundant potential for renewable energy, but its utilization has not been optimal. To drive the use of renewable energy, the Provincial Government of Central Java is promoting the installation of PV rooftops on government buildings.
“From the installation of rooftop PV in government buildings, it shows that there are 30-40% savings on electricity bills for the institutions that install them,” he said.
Previously, the Executive Director of IESR, Fabby Tumiwa, said that the availability of electricity from clean energy is the main attraction for investors to invest in one country.
“If we want to increase investment competitiveness, we must increase the availability of green energy. The supply of electricity from renewable energy is a new indicator for investors to invest their capital,” said Fabby.
Sakina Rosellasari, Head of the Central Java Investment and One-Stop Service Office (DPMPTSP), stated that Central Java is currently designing 23 projects to be offered to investors. Part of the project is related to the development of renewable energy.
“Investment interest is already approaching pre-pandemic times. We hope this meeting will improve communication and encourage investment realization in Central Java,” she said.
This trend is in line with the Indonesian Low Carbon Development study, that efforts to reduce GHG emissions must be carried out in an integrated manner in development plans to push Indonesia out of the middle-income country trap by ensuring economic growth of 5%.
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