Coal-dependent Indonesia has big photo voltaic potential however sluggish progress in direction of a internet zero financial system, explains Daniel Kurniawan and Fabby Squealed from the Institute for Important Companies Reform (IESR), an Indonesian thinktank.
From pv journal 05/23.
In 2021, the Indonesian authorities introduced a objective to attain internet zero emissions by 2060 on the newest. The vital position that photo voltaic will play has been confirmed by the Ministry of Vitality and Mineral Assets (MEMR), IESR, Worldwide Vitality Company (IEA), and Worldwide Renewable Vitality Company (IRENA). As reported by IESR within the report “Indonesia Photo voltaic Vitality Outlook 2023”, PV deployment falls far wanting decarbonization necessities.
The fourth most populous nation on this planet – with 275 million individuals – is the biggest financial system in Southeast Asia and is anticipated to develop into the seventh largest on this planet by 2030. The fifteenth largest nation in world by floor space contributes to a technical photo voltaic era capability potential of three terawatts-peak (TWp) to twenty terawatts-peak, relying on land use. About 1.5 TWp of that potential, occupying 2.5% of Indonesia’s land, may help a zero-emission vitality system by 2050, in accordance with the IESR research, titled “Deep decarbonization of Indonesia’s vitality system.”
Value-competitiveness, modularity, and availability make sure that photo voltaic is the first supply of electrical energy in most Indonesian net-zero financial fashions. Photo voltaic and, to a lesser extent, wind will provide 55% of Indonesia’s electrical energy by mid-century, in accordance with an IEA mannequin that’s in step with continued international temperature will increase this century. capped at 1.5 C. IRENA estimates 800 GW to 840 GW of photo voltaic potential. provide 54% to 62% of Indonesia’s electrical energy in 2050. Each situations require better energy system flexibility, enlargement of electrical energy transmission infrastructure, inter-island interconnections, and vitality storage.
Present progress
Vitality ministry knowledge, nonetheless, present that Indonesia deployed solely 270 MWp of photo voltaic on the finish of December, about 0.01% of the bottom potential technical estimate. Coverage and regulatory uncertainty mix with a scarcity of planning and implementation in an electrical energy market dominated by the state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), which generates, transmits, and distributes electrical energy.
For instance, though PLN’s 10-year electrical energy improvement plan – till 2030 – plans 4.7 GW of photo voltaic, together with 3.9 GW in operation by 2025, there are solely eight initiatives, with whole capability of era 600 MW, within the pipeline final yr, all. they had been tendered earlier than the facility plan was drafted.
PLN additionally supplied the primary section of the plan introduced final yr to interchange 500 MW of small diesel vegetation in distant areas however poor outcomes meant that the procurement spherical could be held once more, delaying within the venture. The utility has been criticized for a scarcity of clear public sale scheduling, which has led to market uncertainty.
Shiny spots
There have been successes, although. Solar energy buy settlement (PPA) costs dropped 76% from 2015 to 2020, from $0.25/kWh to $0.058/kWh. The discount was 84% (to lower than $0.04/kWh) when together with two record-low bids attracted by PLN subsidiary Indonesia Energy’s fairness companion choice train for floating photo voltaic initiatives in Singkarak and Saguling with whole capability within the era of 110 MW. PLN firms this yr issued invites to bid on the 100 MW floating photo voltaic venture at Karangkates dam and the second section of its fairness companion choice for utility scale photo voltaic and wind services.
Photo voltaic rooftops have loved modest progress since internet metering laws had been established in 2018 however restrictions imposed by PLN have slowed installations. Vitality minister Arifin Tasrif in 2021 drafted a regulation that stipulates that for each kilowatt-hour exported to the grid, net-metered photo voltaic homeowners will obtain a full kilowatt-hour. electrical energy price, from the 65% credit score paid by PLN.
The vitality minister additionally streamlined the web metering utility course of however PLN, citing grid capability issues, selected to not implement the brand new system and subsequently restricted the capability of net-metered photo voltaic methods to 10% as much as 15% of prosumer electrical energy connections.
With fewer net-metered prospects coming in 2022 than in earlier years, Jakarta is looking for a center floor to ease PLN’s capability fears and proposals embrace eliminating internet metering and – apply to the quota of functions. Whereas industrial photo voltaic might profit from any lifting of capability limits, dwelling photo voltaic and small enterprise use are anticipated to endure from an extended payback interval for on-net methods. – metered.
pv journal print version
The present concern of pv journal celebrates China’s journey from photo voltaic new entrant to putting in greater than 100 GW(AC) of panels this yr – Vincent Shaw and Frank Haugwitz contemplate the outstanding 20-year journey. We take a look at what Indonesia wants to attain its net-zero ambitions and likewise discover the sparks of a photo voltaic renaissance in Europe, by commerce reveals and gigafatory planning.
The Indonesian authorities and PLN nonetheless have lots of work to do to make solar-powered decarbonization successful. The momentum was created by final yr’s presidency of the G20 group of economies in addition to Indonesia’s signing of a Simply Vitality Transition Partnership with a number of multilateral lenders, to finance the transition from coal to scrub vitality.
The early retirement of coal and widespread adoption of photo voltaic are important to the nation’s objective of limiting peak energy sector emissions to 290 megatons of CO.2 by 2030 and with renewables supplying 34% of electrical energy this decade.
Via its vitality chairmanship of the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations this yr, Indonesia can strengthen the position of solar energy within the context of regional vitality safety by collaboration within the energy system and past, together with selling the PV provide chain within the area. . Because the highway twists and turns, the route to scrub, inexpensive, and equitable vitality is obvious – with photo voltaic because the spine.
In regards to the authors: Daniel Kurniawan is a photo voltaic coverage analyst at IESR and is concerned in solar-related consultancy with authorities companies, native, and worldwide counterparts. He was beforehand a photo voltaic cell researcher and educated in supplies science.
Fabby Squealed is the chief director and founding member of IESR and chairman of the Indonesian Photo voltaic Vitality Affiliation. For greater than 20 years, he has labored on varied vitality insurance policies and laws.
This copy has been amended to point that Indonesia’s technical photo voltaic potential must be measured in terrawatts-peak (TWp) as an alternative of petawatts-peak (PWp) as indicated within the print version.
The views and opinions expressed on this article are these of the writer, and don’t essentially replicate these held by pv journal.
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