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We do not mean to vilify coal: Energy ministry wants cleaner power
“We want to achieve the best for our country,” says the electricity director general as the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry pushes for a greener energy mix, but some say the effort is not being pursued in earnest.
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Power from above: A technician cleans a photovoltaic panel at a state vocational school in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, in this undated photo. Indonesia aims to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix to 23 percent by 2025, but doubts remain about achieving this target. (JP/Kharishar Kahfi)
T
he government plans to increase renewable energy and slash coal use in a revised electricity procurement plan (RUPTL) for the period of 2019 to 2028, setting the stage for a much greener energy mix.
The electricity director general at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Rida Mulyana, noted that, in the existing RUPTL, renewable sources of energy contributed only around 30 percent of electricity produced, while fossil-fuel power plants made up the remaining 70 percent. Under the revision the government was now drafting, renewables may contribute 48 percent, leaving 52 percent for fossil fuels, he added.
Rida noted that those numbers were not final as the government was still discussing the draft. He said the government hoped that renewables could, in fact, dominate the energy road map with a share of 51 percent.
“We want to compose a greener RUPTL,” Rida told reporters at a virtual press conference held by the ministry on Friday.
“We do not mean to vilify coal, but we want to achieve the best for our country,” said Rida.
Rida said the plan was in line with the government’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions and would be presented during the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) to be held at Glasgow, United Kingdom, in November.
Rida admitted that the government did not have much choice, because power plants burning fossil fuels were becoming harder to build each day. He said notable banks and financial institutions had vowed to stop financing such projects, which made it difficult for contractors to get funds and increased the risk of projects stalling.
