The usage of renewable energy through Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) provided by PT PLN, Indonesia’s state-owned electricity company, is increasing in demand, as evidenced by its collaborations with several large companies.
PT Borneo Indobara (BIB), with a power capacity of 6,055,000 VA, becomes a medium voltage (TM) customer using PLN's REC electricity service with a total of 19,056 units, where one REC unit is equivalent to 1 MWh.
Through a written statement to PLN UID Kalselteng in Banjarbaru on Saturday, Adi Supriyatna, general manager of Project Expansion at BIB, stated that their collaboration with PLN has been ongoing since 2019, when PT BIB increased its electricity capacity due to growing operational needs.
"Collaborating with PLN has been running smoothly, and it has been quite a long time. We have great confidence in the reliability of the electricity supply provided by PLN, which is why we always entrust our energy needs solutions to PLN," said Adi, who signed the REC purchase agreement in Banjarmasin on May 30.
According to Adi, PT BIB is ready to support the program of using renewable energy through PLN's REC service and is also prepared to contribute to the government's acceleration of the Net Zero Emission program by utilizing REC services.
"Moreover, PLN's REC is very affordable compared to other countries, so we hope that the steps towards using renewable energy can also be followed by other companies," Adi added.
According to the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), the selling price of REC offered by PLN is relatively low compared to the prices set in other countries such as India and Australia. In Indonesia, the price is Rp35,000 ($2.33) per unit of REC, while in India, it is Rp180,000 ($11.99), and in Australia, it is Rp300,000 ($19.98) per 1 unit of REC with a capacity of 1 MWh.
Following to the ESDM directive "Greenhouse Gas Emission Factor of the Power System," the Grid Barito has an emission factor of 1.10 tons of CO2/MWh. As a result, PT Borneo Indobara is reducing carbon emissions in Scope 2 (the company's power usage) by 20,962 tons of CO2 through the acquisition of REC, as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
Besides PT Borneo Indobara, two other major customers of PLN also utilize green energy services, which are Bridgestone Kalimantan Plant with a power capacity of 412,300 VA and PT Pamapersada Nusantara with a power capacity of 526,500 VA, together have a total of 2,898 units of PLN’s REC, said Muhammad Joharifin, general manager of PT PLN (Persero) UID Kalselteng.
"Through this initiative, it is a concrete proof of PLN's collaboration with businesses and industries in supporting the clean energy transition in the country. The revenue from the sale of REC will be allocated for the development of renewable energy, which aligns perfectly with Indonesia's commitment to reduce global carbon emissions during the G20 Presidency," he said.
Joharifin said that REC is one of PLN's green product innovations designed to facilitate customers in obtaining transparent, accountable, and internationally recognized recognition for using renewable energy without the need to invest in infrastructure development costs.
Through REC, PLN provides an option for achieving up to 100 percent renewable energy utilization and the procurement procedure is relatively simple and quick, he said.
