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King Coal rules as Indonesia sends mixed messages on energy transition
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Smoke and steam billow from a coal-fired power plant owned by Indonesia Power in Suralaya, Banten, on July 11, 2020. (Reuters/WILLY KURNIAWAN)
T
he government will continue to “prioritize domestic interests” as long as energy transition technology remains expensive and the Indonesian economy is not yet strong, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said in a speech at the Indonesia Mining Summit.
“We agree with the global [net-zero emissions goal], but we need to assess our [capabilities]; our baseline is different from developed countries’ baseline,” he said.
Similar statements had been made by high-ranking officials under former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s leadership, but they stand at odds with President Prabowo Subianto’s confidence about reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, a decade earlier than previously targeted.
The President also told a Group of 20 forum in Brazil on Nov. 19 that the country planned to retire all coal and other fossil-fuel-fired power plants in the next 15 years, versus an earlier target of 2056, and to build an additional 75 gigawatts of renewable power generating capacity within the same timeframe.
“Slowly, we will introduce new and renewable energy, but to this day, we think coal remains one of the most competitive, cheap [energy sources], Bahlil said.”
Meanwhile, state-owned electricity firm PLN has insisted that every proposal for the early retirement of coal-fired power plants in the country be “cost-neutral”, meaning that no additional costs are to be borne by either the company or the government.
Speaking before House of Representatives Commission VI, which oversees energy policies, PLN CEO Darmawan Prasodjo said retiring the fossil-fuel burning plants could result in significant expenses, including the cost of building alternative renewable energy power sources with the same capacity and reliability as the retired facilities.
