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Export to Singapore could let sun shine on solar power firms
Indonesia is moving closer to selling electricity to the neighboring city state, but analysts still see challenges related to clearing and manufacturing.
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Technicians inspect rooftop solar panels at Claro Hotel Makassar in South Sulawesi on Aug. 2, 2023. (Antara/Arnas Padda)
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nalysts and industry players say planned exports of renewably generated electricity to Singapore would attract new investment for the local solar power industry and benefit the country through additional tax receipts and revenue for PLN.
However, they also point to potential challenges in connection with land clearing and domestic manufacturing, and a general question is whether such exports should be the government's priority amid increasing domestic demand for green power.
On Friday, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singapore's Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng on the export of renewably sourced electricity from Indonesia to Singapore.
The agreement, which covers various aspects, including transmission networks and carbon credits, is a follow-up to a similar MoU signed by the two ministries in January last year.
"The [latest] MoU will apply for five years and could be extended for another five years," Dadan Kusdiana, the energy ministry's director general in charge of renewables, said in a statement during the Indonesia Sustainability Forum in Jakarta.
The ministry's director general of electricity program supervision, Jisman Hutajulu, said Indonesia was waiting for requests from Singapore to proceed with the plan’s execution. The export would take place under a business-to-business (B2B) arrangement, with the transmission to be facilitated by state-owned electricity firm PLN.
Three local companies are involved in the export plan, namely Pacific Medco Solar Energy, Adaro Clean Energy Indonesia and Energi Baru TBS. Collectively, they propose to build around 21 gigawatts of electricity storage and 11 GW of peak capacity solar power plants.
