Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Yuliot Tanjung (middle), Energy Ministry secretary-general Dadan Kusdiana (left) and PLN CEO Darmawan Prasodjo (second right) speak to media at the 2024 Electricity Connect exhibition held at the Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta, on Nov. 20. — The Jakarta Post
JAKARTA: State-owned utility firm PT PLN plans to add 47 gigawatts (GW) of renewable capacity to the grid by the end of 2034 in line with the government’s effort to double down on its commitment to generate more power from clean energy, the company says.
That figure is equivalent to 70% of the total planned 68GW new capacity it seeks to procure over the next decade, with the rest to come from fossil fuel-based generation.
Previously, PLN planned to add 47GW of new electricity generation by the end of 2033 with 33.2GW coming from renewables, according to a draft of the long-term electricity procurement plan seen by The Jakarta Post earlier this year.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s electricity director general, Jisman Hutajulu told reporters during the 2024 Electricity Connect exhibition on Wednesday that adding the new power generation would require a 600 trillion rupiah (US$37.87bil) investment.
However, the country would still need to find a further 400 trillion rupiah investment to build transmission and substation infrastructure, which will be needed to support the procurement plans.
“The government will take on the role of building transmission and substation (infrastructure), as the economic returns of power plants are better than transmission projects,” said Jisman, adding he hoped that attracting private investment in power plants would pose “no problem”.
Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Yuliot Tanjung said during the same event that the figures came as part of the country’s target to add 102GW electricity capacity by the end of 2040.
Of that capacity, 75GW would come from renewable energy sources, he said, such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal.
The rest would include 22GW coming from natural gas-powered plants and five GW of nuclear power.
The ministry also estimates the country would need to build 70,000km of transmission lines to connect with demand centres.
PLN chief executive officer Darmawan Prasodjo said during the event that he welcomed the ambitious target, highlighting that achieving those targets would be more possible due to the improved affordability of renewable energy, something which is often debated amid calls to introduce more clean energy.
“Renewable energy has become more cost-competitive year by year,” Darmawan said.
Solar power costs have plunged from 25 US cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2015 to just five cents today, while wind energy costs have dropped from 20 cents to 12 cents per kWh over the same period, he said.
Meanwhile, battery energy storage costs have also declined, now at nine cents per kWh, he pointed out, compared with over 20 cents a decade ago, driven by intense competition in the industry.
Battery storage is deemed essential to mitigate intermittency risks when introducing more renewable energy.
Indonesia’s special envoy for energy and the environment Hashim Djojohadikusumo has reiterated the new administration’s commitment to introduce more clean energy during the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Hashim, a tycoon who is also President Prabowo Subianto’s brother, said on Nov 11 that Indonesia would add 75GW of renewables over the next 15 years. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
