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ESDM to rethink renewables strategy amid lower-than-expected economic growth
Energy experts say that the government must diversify its bioenergy sources beyond biofuel to meet its 2025 target on new and renewable energy (NRE) and reduced emissions.
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Steam rises from the Dieng geothermal power plant, a major source of electricity in Central Java. Indonesia is unlikely to meet its 23 percent renewable energy mix target by 2025 unless it diversified beyond biofuel, experts say. (Tempo/Aris Andrianto)
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ndonesia must restrategize to meet its 2025 renewable target, the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry said on Sept. 25 at a discussion on the country's renewable energy outlook in Jakarta.
“So what is our strategy to reach that target? With the implementation of the [30 percent] B30 biodiesel policy, we expect to increase the renewable energy mix by 3 percentage points,” ESDM geothermal director Ida Nuryatin Finahari said during the discussion.
The ministry would also increase output at biomass power plants by 5 percentage points and the production of biogasoline and bioavtur by 2 percentage points each to meet the 23 percent target, she said.
The ministry has decided that it would focus more on developing bioenergy over other alternatives in meeting the government’s 23 percent renewable energy target, as stipulated in the long-term National Energy Plan (RUEN). This was particularly because bioenergy aligned with the government's plan to promote biofuel consumption in the transportation sector and thus, reduce carbon emissions and oil imports.
The decision came after the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) released its Energy Outlook 2018 late last year, which concluded that Indonesia would reach a new and renewable energy (NRE) mix of only 13 percent by 2025, much lower than the target.
It reported that, despite continual increase, the country's renewable energy development could still not compete with fossil fuels and thus, “the target for NRE usage set by the Government [...] will be difficult to achieve”.
“When we were drafting the RUEN, we were very optimistic about Indonesia’s economic growth, expecting 7-8 percent growth, but our current growth is only around 5 percent,” said Ida, explaining that the government had overestimated its growth projection for renewable energy production.
