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.
Five more years to meet renewable energy target
Other than land use that contributes substantially to climate change, excessive fossil fuel consumption also plays a key role in this phenomenon. Sadly, the main solution to reduce fossil fuel usage through renewable energy has made very questionable progress in this country.
Change Size
A worker checks Wind Power Plant at Jawa Bali Power Plant Office in Jakarta. Indonesia is developing renewable energy like wind, especially in regions with high velocity wind like in coastal areas. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he new decade started with a terrifying kick-off. Extreme rainfall occurring from the west of Indonesia from Banten and Jakarta to East Nusa Tenggara, which is nearer to the ravaging bushfires of Australia, raised questions as to what has really caused this calamity.
Various factors are suspected as the culprits and climate change is one of the most mentioned. Indonesia as one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gas surely needs to pay more attention to this matter.
Other than land use that contributes substantially to climate change, excessive fossil fuel consumption also plays a key role in this phenomenon. Sadly, the main solution to reduce fossil fuel usage through renewable energy has made very questionable progress in this country.
Indonesia actually has an ambitious target for its renewable energy development.
Based on the national energy policy, renewables should contribute at least 23 percent to the national energy mix by 2025. This means that hydropower, solar, wind, etc. should provide almost a quarter of the national energy needs.
The latest data from the National Energy Council show that these sources of energy only contribute around 9 percent of the total primary energy supply. Furthermore, various reports also suggest that progress in achieving the target is unsatisfactory.
The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) just released an outlook in December 2019 that stated Indonesia was set to miss all of its 2019 renewable energy targets. These include the targets ratified in the National Medium-Term Development Plan, with a deficit of around 58 percent of renewable power generation capacity, while the One Million Rooftop Solar Initiative produces less than 20 megawatts of its gigawatt target.
