IEA member: Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said announces Indonesia's official status as an associate member of the International Energy Agency (IEA) based in Paris, France
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The Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said has blamed unfavorable regulations for being the biggest obstacle to the development of clean energy.
Nearly all regulations in the energy sector needed to be adjusted to support clean energy, Sudirman said.
Indonesia plans to spur investment in clean energy with the Bali Clean Energy Forum, to be held in February next year.
"Indonesia will encourage global partnerships on renewable energy funding, technology transfer and human-resources assistance. The three pillars have to be supported by regulatory reform regarding tariffs, permits and the energy mix," he said during a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.
International partnerships, he continued, were crucial, as the fall in world oil prices had made renewable energy less competitive against the fossil fuel.
Higher feed-in tariffs for electricity from renewable sources could make investment in clean energy more attractive but would put pressure on state-owned electricity company PLN.
"If PLN is forced to buy electricity generated from renewable sources of energy at the current market prices, it will be surely burdening," the minister said.
COP21
The chairman of the Renewable Energy Development Acceleration (P2EBT) task force at the ministry, William Syahbandar, said the Bali Clean Energy Forum was part of measures to follow up the global initiatives agreed at the COP21 climate conference in Paris.
Indonesia is set to launch two clean energy initiatives at the forum, namely a 5,000 megawatt (MW) solar-cell program with US$7 billion of investment and a Clean Energy Center of Excellence.
"We expect to receive funds from non-bank financial institutions, such as pension funds, as alternative sources of funding for the solar energy projects besides the state budget," he said.
To encourage such funding, William said, the ministry would work closely with the Financial Services Authority. (ags)
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