Indonesia decided to stop building new coal-fired power plants after 2023 to meet its carbon-neutral target, but also noted over 100 plants to be built by then will still be put into operation.
There would be no more new thermal plants after an ongoing program to add 35,000 MW to the national grid, powered mostly by coal, is completed, said Zulkifli Zaini, CEO of state-owned electricity utility PLN.
In 2015, Indonesian government ordered to build 117 new thermal plants, while renewables only at 2,000 MW. "Construction of the new coal plants is expected to be finished by 2023. After these are done, we are committed to add electricity in the future by focusing only on new and renewable energy," Zulkifli said.
Indonesia's renewable energy sector is far behind other Southeast Asian countries. As of 2020, its new and renewable energy power generation only accounted for 11.5% of the total. The government expects this figure would be 23% by 2025.
Coal resources are abundant in Indonesia, making up almost 40% of its total energy mix.
PLN’s plan to stop building new coal plants is the first step toward decarbonizing the country’s economy, which is still heavily reliant on dirty coal, said Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of Indonesian private policy think tank the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR).
Earlier this month, PLN said the company aims to achieve carbon neutral by 2050 and will introduce more renewables into its grid system, while gradually phase out fossil fuel-based power plants.
(Writing by Rebecca Liu Editing by Harry Huo)
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