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Indonesia looks to UAE for cheaper renewable energy
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A worker checks a wind turbine at the Jawa Bali Power Plant Office in Jakarta. The country is developing renewable energy like wind, especially in coastal areas known to have strong winds. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
I
ndonesia is looking to major oil exporter United Arab Emirates to try to push down its feed-in-tariff for renewable energy, which many deem too high in the archipelagic country.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said Indonesia should also be able to reduce the high prices in the sector in order to encourage further development, especially in remote regions.
“Many of my friends who work in the renewable energy sector ask whether or not incentives should be offered. I personally don’t think so. What is needed is enthusiasm for efficiency,” he said during the opening of the Indonesia Energy Roadmap seminar in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.
(Read also: Paving a renewable energy pathway)
“I went to Abu Dhabi last week and saw that, for example, solar power plants there sold electricity for a mere 2.99 US cents per kilowatt-hour [kWh], which is a very serious thing to consider,” he added.
Although the UAE is known for its vast oil reserves, it recently revealed that it was investing $163 billion in clean energy projects to fulfil half the country’s energy needs by 2030.
Jonan acknowledged that the characteristics between Indonesia and the UAE were different as “their solar radiation is 30 percent higher than ours”. However, he said if Indonesia studied the UAE closely, it might be able to push the renewable energy feed-in-tariff to around 6 cents per kWh, rather than 17 cents.
The government has set a goal to supply 23 percent of the national energy mix from renewable sources by 2025. (bbn)
