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Govt slow to develop renewable energy
The government’s lack of commitment to develop renewable energy will leave the country facing a energy shortage in less than 25 years, an official says
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T
he government’s lack of commitment to develop renewable energy will leave the country facing a energy shortage in less than 25 years, an official says.
The National Council on Climate Change vice chairman Armi Susandi said Tuesday the country would not reach its 2035 target of 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources, such as solar and wind power. “If we do not reach the renewable energy target, there will be an energy shortage and we will have to import,” he said, explaining while the country’s gas supply should last for 40 years, oil supplies will be depleted within just 17 years.
Armi said a presidential decree in 2005 had targeted an increase in renewable energy use to 10 percent of total consumption by 2025 and 30 percent by 2035, up from the current 5 percent, however, at the current pace that target would not be met.
He said the government had yet to prioritize renewable energy development, which would help reduce the country’s carbon emissions by replacing fossil fuels with cleaner energy sources.
“There is a renewable energy decree but it is still only nominal because there are as yet no detailed regulations on renewable energy implementation,” he said.
The government has held back from producing renewable energy technology because of cost. “We have the prototypes, but there needs to be renewable energy users before producers are willing to manufacture the technology, as it would be too costly to manufacture, for example, solar panels or wind turbines in small numbers,” he said.
Armi said Indonesia had huge clean energy potential from the geothermal sector, Indonesia having 33.000 megawatts of geothermal resources that could be developed for energy consumption and export. Although geothermal energy does not release carbon, he acknowledged it would impact the microclimate of areas where it was being developed.
