TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Just energy: Unlocking the power of solar in Indonesia
According to a 2019 IESR study, residential buildings alone can generate between 195 and 565 GW and hundreds GW more from industrial buildings' rooftops.
Change Size
SURYA PANEL: Officers check the installation of solar panels in Terminal Tirtonadi, Surakarta, Central Java, on July 31, 2022. The Ministry of Transportation project is capable of producing 500 kilo volt amperes (kVA) or 500,000 watts of electricity. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
D
uring the Group of 20 Summit in Bali last November, Indonesia signed a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) agreement with the International Partner Group (IPG) to accelerate Indonesia's energy transition. Along with the US$20 billion investment commitment, it aims to limit power-sector CO2 emissions to 290 million tonnes by 2030, achieve a 34-percent renewable energy mix by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
This is a significant undertaking for a country that relies on fossil fuels, primarily coal plants, to generate 86 percent of its electricity. According to the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), in order to meet the emission and renewable mix targets, approximately 8.6 gigawatts (GW) of coal plants must be decommissioned and 28 GW of renewables must be built, with solar photovoltaic (PV) accounting for approximately one-third of the capacity.
Because of the availability of resources, cost competitiveness and the modularity of the technology, solar PV could play an important role in decarbonizing Indonesia's energy system. We have plenty of solar power, which could meet nearly all of our future electricity needs. Based on available land, IESR has an estimated 3,300 to 20,000 GW.
Solar PV costs have dropped by 90 percent in a decade, and this trend is expected to continue as efficiency improves and new, less-expensive and more-reliable technologies enter the market. In two years, the levelized cost of electricity for utility-scale solar in Indonesia is expected to fall below US$0.05 per kWh.
Land acquisition is a major issue in many energy projects, particularly in Java-Bali, where 75 percent of electricity is consumed. The modularity of PV modules allows them to be installed instantly on any surface, whether land, water, rooftops or on agricultural land, without compromising productivity.
The simplest and quickest solution is to install solar panels on the roof. According to a 2019 IESR study, residential buildings alone can generate between 195 and 565 GW and hundreds GW more from industrial buildings’ rooftops. We can learn from Vietnam, which installed 9.3 GW of rooftop PV in a single year.
To avoid land-acquisition issues, which typically delay project implementation and thus impede the rapid and scaled energy transition, first increase deployment of solar rooftop PV and floating PV on reservoirs and dams, which have the potential to generate gigawatts of solar electricity before 2030, enough to accelerate our power system's energy transition, followed by ground-mounted utility-scale solar and other renewables that take more time to plan and implement.
