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View all search resultsThe (non) zero-sum game of rooftop solar
With 1 GW peak of rooftop solar at 1:1 net-metering tariff, PLN's revenue would decline by only 0.5 percent.
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A
s solar energy is crowned "king of electricity" and its installations continue to expand, it also demonstrates the true meaning of energy democracy. We are talking about distributed photovoltaics (PV) – driven by the wide availability of solar irradiation, the modular characteristics of solar PV systems, the rise of climate action and the increasing access to solar providers.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) recorded net-capacity additions of approximately 38 gigawatts (GW) distributed PVs in the commercial and industrial (C&I) and residential sector for 2020, and projects 46 GW of cumulative installation in 2021 following economic recovery (accelerated scenario). Key markets such as the United States and India showed a brief decline in distributed PV installations, but sensible policies have boosted installation for the residential segment in China and the commercial segment in Brazil.
Today, most distributed PVs are installed on a rooftop. Roofs answer the land/space issue for solar energy utilization, particularly for heavily populated areas. Rooftop solar has become a trend, as a form of long-term investment for consumers for their energy consumption and as an example of environmental action. Architectural landscape now integrates it as part of green buildings.
The Indonesian government has mandated the use of rooftop solar for government offices (minimum 30 percent of roof area) and luxury houses (minimum 25 percent of roof area) stipulated in the National Energy Plan (RUEN).
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has also issued regulations for rooftop solar for the public, namely Ministerial Regulation No. 16/2019 – solid legal protection as an improvement from the previous PLN director's decree.
There are "buts" coming.
Mandatory rooftop solar use has yet to manifest, and the increasing interest from the residential and C&I sectors is met with challenges. The current narrative is almost exclusively about rooftop solar being pitted against PLN's declining electricity sales, the overcapacity of PLN generation, grid instability, the burden of providing balancing power and the dismissal shrug that the public should only use solar energy for self-consumption.
