Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know
Indonesia has planned to increase its solar power generating capacity by an additional 4.7 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 as part of its efforts for net zero carbon emissions by 2060.
Last week, the Indonesian government approved the Power Procurement Plan (RUPTL) of state-owned electricity distributor Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) for 2021–30. The plan is expected to deliver 51.6% of additional renewable generating capacity, and is described as a ‘greener’ plan by the energy and mineral resources minister Arifin Tasrif.
Renewables and climate change expert John Yeap of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, said: “Countries with high demand growth such as Indonesia will need to balance its net zero commitments with the need to meet demand growth. By increasing renewables over fossil-based generation, that helps to reduce the carbon intensity, but achieving net zero in the context of substantial plant up of fossil based generation will require other carbon abatement programmes such as carbon sinks to be implemented.”
“The achievability of net zero in the context of a power development plan that continues to see significant fossil-based generation will therefore need to be viewed beyond just the context of the power development plan,” he said.
Under the RUPTL, 40.6GW of new capacity will installed in the next 10 years, including 21GW of renewables generating capacity and 19.6GW of fossil-based generating capacity. The country will allow more private power companies or independent power producers (IPPs) to be involved in the development of new plants.
Indonesia has set its goal for achieving net zero emissions by 2060. In July its government submitted its updated nationally determined climate goals to the United Nations.
PLN earlier pledged to stop building coal plants by 2023 after finishing the 35GW worth of projects it had in the pipeline. It aims to gradually retire coal-fired power as Indonesia rolls out its carbon neutrality ambitions to 2050. Reuters reported that Indonesia plans to bring in carbon taxes to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
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