Grita "Ninda" Anindarini, a researcher at non-governmental organization Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), said the absence of legislation specifically regulating the renewable energy sector had led to legal uncertainty in the development of green energy in the country.

"Legal uncertainty poses a challenge to investors wanting to develop a renewable energy project in the country. This is probably what the government is trying to address through the bill," she told a media briefing in Jakarta on Friday.

Ninda, who oversees pollution control research at ICEL, said the bill sought to improve the regulatory climate by filling the legal vacuum.

Laws related to renewable energy are currently scattered across different pieces of legislation, such as Law No. 30/2007 on energy, Law No. 30/2009 on electricity or several energy and mineral resources ministerial regulations.

The country’s slow growth of renewable energy can be seen in the proportion of renewables in the energy mix, which was at 12.36 percent last year and lower than the government's target of 17.5 percent set in the General National Energy Planning (RUEN) road map. The government is seeking to increase the proportion of renewables to at least 23 percent in 2025 and 31 percent in 2050.

"We should try to provide a firm legal basis for the renewable energy sector to give certainty, so it can grow significantly," said Sugeng Suparwoto, head of the House Commission VII overseeing energy, which initiated the planned bill.

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