(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia launched a floating solar plant in West Java, part of a plan to harness its water basins to produce more renewable electricity.
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President Joko Widodo attended the opening ceremony of the Sirata factory on Thursday, about 100 kilometers west of the capital, Jakarta. In July, Indonesia issued a rule requiring 20% of the basin area to be used for renewable energy production.
"This is a historic day because our great dream of building a large-scale renewable energy project has finally come true," said Jokowi, known as president.
Floating solar is becoming increasingly popular as a clean energy solution in countries where available land is scarce or in places where land-based developments face opposition. According to BloombergNEF, Japan, South Korea and China are among the top users.
Cirata's initial capacity is currently larger than its operations in Southeast Asia, although larger facilities are currently being built in countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam, according to BNEF data. It is also smaller than existing floating solar plants elsewhere, including China's Anhui province.
Elsewhere in Indonesia, Suncip Group has proposed a 2.2GW plant in a basin on Batam Island near Singapore, while Reposstren Holdings Pte plans a 2GW plant in West Java.
Accelerating the energy transition has been a priority for Jokowi as Indonesia aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060. There are around 248 reservoirs in the country that can be used to develop floating solar power plants, corresponding to a production capacity of 262 GW. to government estimates.
State-owned power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara and Abu Dhabi government-owned Masdar plan to expand the Cirata plant to 500 MW, the maximum allowed under the 20% rule.
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