The development of coal-fueled power plants (PLTU) is no longer an option in Indonesia, which is moving to transition from fossil fuels to new and renewable energy, the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister has said.

New and renewable energy is cleaner, environmentally friendly, and has low emissions, Arifin Tasrif said at a webinar accessed from Jakarta on Tuesday.

“The development of new PLTUs is no longer an option, except those which are now under construction. This will offer a greater chance and room to develop new and renewable energy,” he added.

Based on state electricity company PT PLN’s power supply business plan (RUPTL 2021-2030), which was endorsed on September 28, 2021, the capacity of fossil energy-fueled power plants is targeted to increase by just 19.6 gigawatts, or 48.4 percent, in 10 years’ time, Tasrif said.

Meanwhile, the capacity of new and renewable energy-based power plants is projected to rise by 20.9 gigawatts, or 51.6 percent, he added.

To achieve the addition of 40.6 gigawatts quickly in the next decade, the government will offer opportunities to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to build new and renewable energy-based power plants, the minister informed.

The national energy policy is aligned with the Indonesian government’s commitment to the Paris Agreement — to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2030, in accordance with the National Determined Contribution (NDC), by 29 percent on its own and 41 percent with international support, he said.

“Today, the commitment to overcoming climate change has been responded to by adopting a roadmap for net-zero emissions,” Tasrif said.

One of the challenges to net-zero emissions is providing electrical power from low carbon energy sources, he added.

Source: Antara News