Indonesia backtracks on coal phase-out in new 2034 power supply plan
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The Indonesian government said it will need 2,967.4 trillion rupiah (S$235 billion) of investment to realise the expansion.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JAKARTA - Indonesia plans to add 69.5 gigawatts (GW) of power capacity by the end of 2034, much of it from renewable sources, but it still expects to add new coal-fired power plants, its Energy Ministry said on May 26.
The expansion will need investment of more than 2,967 trillion rupiah (S$235 billion), the government said in its new power supply plan for 2025 to 2034, which is more ambitious than a prior plan to add about 40GW from 2021 to 2030.
Although Jakarta has previously said the new plan would be its most environmentally friendly, helping to achieve a 2060 target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions, it walked back Indonesia’s commitment on retiring coal assets.
“Coal should not be considered an illicit commodity,” Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told a press conference.
“It’s OK to use if we need.”
Some new coal power plants are still expected to enter commercial operation as late as 2033.
In 2021, South-east Asia’s largest economy pledged to gradually retire coal plants, vowing it would finish only projects already in the works.
At the time, that meant its last coal plants would come online in 2027, with the last plant to be shut by 2056.
“If there’s a donor who gives us funds, low interest rates, I will give permission for retirement,” Mr Bahlil said in response to a query about the previous plan for early retirement of coal plants.
Coal is a reliable baseload power source, Mr Bahlil said, adding that carbon capture technology should be used to reduce emission.
The new plan factors in a government prediction of energy demand that assumes Indonesia’s economic growth will reach President Prabowo Subianto’s target of 8 per cent by 2029, versus about 5 per cent now.
First nuclear power
The plan says state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara will invest 568 trillion rupiah in new power plants, while the government will offer opportunities of more than 1,566 trillion rupiah to investors.
The plan calls for 42.6GW of power plants with renewable sources such as 17.1GW from solar, 11.7GW from hydroelectricity and 7.2GW from wind power and 5.2GW from geothermal. It also includes 10.3GW of energy storage.
The government introduced a plan for 0.5GW of energy from nuclear power plants to be built around the region of Sumatra and Borneo, with the first to start operating in 2032.
Gas-fired power plants with total capacity of 10.3GW are planned, as well as 6.3GW of coal-fired power plants.
Indonesia will also add 47,758km of transmission lines to supply renewable power to areas of high energy demand. REUTERS
