The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says solar power could become the backbone of Indonesia's energy system by 2030. However, the country's hopes are still far from IRENA's scenarios.
IRENA predicts that Indonesia's energy sector will undergo a "radical transformation" by 2050, according to a recently released report, "Indonesia's Energy Transition Forecast". According to IRENA, by 2050 the share of renewable energies in the country's electricity production could reach 85% against 12% in 2011.
Solar power is expected to be central to this transformation, accounting for 798 GW of the 1,000 GW total in the “less ambitious” scenario. Photoelectricity includes up to 840 GW in the “most ambitious” scenario. To do so, Indonesia will need to add 66 GW of new solar capacity to its generation capacity by 2030.
To achieve this, the country will need to invest $44 billion in solar energy. Investments in other renewable technologies will total $39 billion, and an additional $75 billion will be needed in grid infrastructure. Battery storage will require $5.5 trillion in investment and electric vehicle charging infrastructure will require $22 trillion.
However, Indonesia's hopes are a far cry from IRENA's scenarios. The country's 2021-30 electricity plan, published last year, sets a target of 23% renewable energy by 2030 in its "optimal" scenario. About 190 MW of solar power is currently installed in the country, according to Apricum.
In May, Saudi developer ACWA Power won a tender to develop 110 MW of floating solar power on reservoirs, 50 MW on the island of Sumatra and 60 MW on Java.
In April, Singapore-based Quantum Power Asia and Germany's ib vogt announced plans to invest $5 billion in a 12 GW storage and 3.5 GW solar project.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia installed 51.2MW of rooftop solar PV capacity in January alone, including commercial and industrial (C&I) and residential projects.
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