Jakarta, January 23, 2024 – The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), through the Energy Transition Academy in collaboration with the West Java Energy and Mineral Resources Agency (ESDM) and the Society of Renewable Energy University of Indonesia (SRE UI) has been held The West Java Energy Exploration on January 23-26, 2024. The initiative is to support and promote the implementation of renewable energy in West Java Province to become an example for other regions in Indonesia.

West Java Province was selected as the location for The Energy Exploration (Jelajah Energi) because it has abundant potential for renewable energy sources that can be utilized effectively and sustainably to achieve the net zero emission target by 2060 or earlier. Furthermore, the renewable energy mix in West Java has already reached 25.81% as of 2023, which exceeds the target of 20% set in the Regional Energy General Plan (RUED) for 2025.

Head of the Energy and Mineral Resources Agency (ESDM) of West Java Province, Ai Saadiyah Dwidaningsih, said that the province has renewable energy potential consisting of solar, biomass, geothermal, water, and wind energy of around 192 GW. Despite achieving a high renewable energy mix in 2023, only about 2% of the potential (around 3.41 GW) has been utilized. 

“There are several challenges to the implementation of the energy transition in West Java, including the limited authority of energy affairs in the regions, both provincial and district/city, the oversupply condition of the Java Madura Bali power plant, as well as the concept of renewable energy and energy conservation, is also not widely recognized by the public,” said Ai Saadiyah Dwidaningsih in her remarks at The West Java Energy Exploration. 

Reflecting on these challenges, Ai Saadiyah Dwidaningsih emphasized the importance of cross-sector collaboration in efforts to campaign for energy transition. For this reason, West Java Province has established a Regional Energy Forum. This forum is a forum to discuss strategic issues in the field of energy resources from various perspectives to provide input for policies by the Regional Energy General Plan (RUED) and national energy policies.

“We continue to encourage cross-sector collaboration to echo the energy transition. We see that the energy transition is important because the condition of our earth has entered the era of global boiling, no longer global warming. Without taking concrete steps to reduce emissions, the situation will only deteriorate further,” said Ai Saadiyah Dwidaningsih.

Deon Arinaldo, Energy Transformation Program Manager, IESR, explained that the West Java Energy Exploration is expected to increase public understanding of the benefits and potential of renewable energy. He believes that a wider audience can be reached by visiting areas that utilize renewable energy and sharing stories of successful initiatives from the community, industry, and government. This approach will inspire and encourage independent initiatives from various actors, including the general public, to promote sustainable energy transformation in Indonesia.

“Renewable energy is accessible to everyone and should be utilized. Therefore, we encourage all parties to collaborate in the energy transition. This collaboration should begin with understanding renewable energy and its benefits for the environment and economy. With this knowledge, it is hoped that the community can fully support the implementation of clean energy-based solutions,” said Deon Arinaldo. 

Deon mentioned that to increase public knowledge, IESR has provided an energy transition learning platform called the Energy Transition Academy that can be accessed openly by the public.

“Various easily digestible energy transition classes are available at the Energy Transition Academy. Even in the future, there may be various stories of good practices in using renewable energy, including the experience of the West Java Energy Exploration, documented there,” added Deon.

The West Java Energy Exploration team plans to visit nine strategic locations to see the positive impact of utilizing renewable energy. The destinations include PLTSa TPST Bantar Gebang, Cirata Floating Solar PV, Cirata Hydroelectric Power Plant, Gunung Halu MicroHydro, Cofiring and Solar PV PT Kahatex Majalaya, Surya Energi Indonesia, Geothermal Power Plants Kamojang, Biogas & Solar PV Producer Cooperative Karya Nugraha Jaya, and Cirebon Mangrove Ecotourism.