© Antara Although Indonesia's solar energy potential is huge, the government is not sacrificing forests to expand solar panel installations.Jakarta: Although Indonesia has great solar potential, the government will not sacrifice forests to expand solar panel installations, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif said.
Indonesia is blessed with a wide range of renewable energy sources, with 89% of the country's 3,600 GW of installed capacity coming from solar power. But we have to be careful and not sacrifice our forests for solar panels because we have to protect [our forests], he said Thursday during the "Bright Bright: Advancing G20 Solar Leadership" webinar.
According to Indonesia's Energy Transition Roadmap, about 21 GW of the 700 GW of renewable energy capacity will come from solar energy, so solar energy will play an important role in meeting national electricity needs.
According to him, in addition to Indonesia's commitment to a low-emission economy and a target of net zero emissions by 2060, the development of geothermal energy is also necessary in the medium term before renewable energy reaches economically sustainable levels and commercial.
According to him, the problem of temporary solar can be solved by using the energy obtained from water or geothermal sources.
According to the finance minister, as an archipelago country, Indonesia needs an electricity transmission network to distribute electricity from the production center to the consumption center.
Indonesia has announced plans to build a super-grid transmission system to bridge the gap between renewable energy sources and electricity-producing areas with high electricity demand.
"Furthermore, we will open opportunities to export electricity produced from our renewable energy to ASEAN countries through the ASEAN electricity grid," he said.
The Minister of Finance said that not only the government and the business world should contribute to this process, but also energy designers and users.
"Because Indonesia has mineral potential and it is important, supporting local manufacturers and industries for raw materials such as solar photovoltaic (photovoltaic cells), batteries and power cables is important," said the minister.
