Indonesia's state utility, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), plans to construct an additional 31.6 GW of renewable power capacity between 2024 and 2033, Chief Executive Darmawan Prasodjo told the parliament on Nov. 15.
The extra renewable capacity would account 75% of the additional generation during that period, while the remaining capacity is expected to come from gas power plants, Darmawan said, citing a draft plan for power supply.
In the 2021-2030 plan, PLN proposed building 20.9 GW renewable capacity and almost 20 GW of gas and coal power capacity. As of September, out of the total additional capacity planned for 2021-2030, 8.6 GW has been completed.
The new plan aims to accelerate the adoption of greener energy as the country targets achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.
PLN will also build transmissions to connect hydropower and other renewable energy sources to Java, where there is high demand for power, and Sulawesi, where future power consumption is projected to increase.
However, the power supply draft plan does not anticipate an accelerated shutdown of coal-fired power plants. Indonesia, a major producer and exporter of coal, currently relies on it to power approximately half of its electricity.
"We had agreed that this will not be coal phase-out, but coal phase-down," Darmawan told the parliament, adding that most of the coal power plants will remain operational until the end of its contract. He also mentioned that PLN will implement carbon capture and storage technology once it becomes available.
Indonesia had sought financing from global lenders to expedite the closure of coal power plants to reduce emission, but banks are concerned that environmental groups will perceive such loans as financing for coal projects. The banks had already pledged to cease extending finance for any new coal projects.
Under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), where wealthy nations and global lenders committed $20 billion funding to clean up Indonesia’s power sector, two power plants with a total capacity of 1.7 GW are scheduled to be shut down by 2040.
