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Executive Column: Inecosolar banks on JETP to spur RI’s energy transition
Inecosolar managing director Benoit Prim gives a brief insight into Indonesia's solar potential and how it is progressing toward achieving its energy transition goals.
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Inecosolar president director Benoit Prim (Inecosolar/-)
T
em>The energy transition presents a key opportunity for Indonesia to develop energy resilience, and while it has set ambitious targets to reduce emissions by 31.89 percent independently by 2030 and to achieve a green energy mix of 23 percent by 2025, many immediate improvements are needed so Southeast Asia’s largest economy can turn this dream into reality.
Inecosolar managing director Benoit Prim spoke with The Jakarta Post’s Divya Karyza on the company’s experience in developing Indonesia’s solar panel engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) sector, as well as his hopes for the country’s transition to renewables.
Question: What obstacles hamper Indonesia in developing its solar potential?
Answer: Right now, the main problem is the electricity oversupply in the Java-Bali grid, which means Indonesia doesn’t really need additional power capacity, including those coming from rooftop solar panels installed on buildings and houses. Hopefully, when this oversupply issue is resolved, there will be more room for larger implementation of solar panels.
This is limiting the amount of rooftop solar panels that [individuals and businesses] can install, and make investments in rooftop solar panels in the country less economically attractive than it could’ve been.
Have you noticed any meaningful development in the local solar panel industry?
The Indonesian government has been really supportive in terms of the regulations they’ve been issuing, with the 100 percent net metering [regulation], which makes the electricity that is not self-consumed and is exported to the grid to be valued at 100 percent. Consequently, more individuals and businesses are interested in installing solar panels.
