Indonesia has ratified its RUPTL 2025-2034 electricity plan, targeting 69.5 GW of new electricity production capacity
It will include 17.1 GW of new solar PV capacity out of the 42.6 GW of renewable energy capacity
Fossil fuels take precedence in the 1st half of the implementation period, thus delaying renewable energy projects
Indonesia has committed to add 42.6 GW of new renewable energy capacity, including 17.1 GW of solar, under the country’s Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) 2025-2034 that was ratified recently. This will expand the country’s total operational renewable energy capacity from 14.3 GW at the end of 2024, including 815 MW of solar PV, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Sharing the key points of the plan in a press conference, Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, shared that renewable energy will form around 76% of the additional generating capacity of 69.5 GW that the government targets to install by 2034 under RUPTL.
The government projects a total investment of IDR 2,967.4 trillion ($185.5 billion), with close to 73% to be allocated to independent power producers (IPP), while the remaining will be managed by the PT PLN Group.
Lahadalia expressed the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and the national target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.
The plan prepared by PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) spreads out the 69.5 GW capacity in 2 phases. Over the course of the initial 5 years, Indonesia will build 9.2 GW of gas-based, 12.2 GW of new renewable energy (EBT), 3 GW of energy storage systems such as batteries and pumped storage, and 3.5 GW of coal-fired power plants.
Renewable energy sources will be built in the latter half with 17.1 GW of solar, 7.2 GW of wind, 5.2 GW of geothermal, 11.7 GW of hydro, 900 MW of bioenergy, and 2 small nuclear reactor units with 250 MW capacity each.
International law firm A&O Shearman says achieving the solar PV targets of 17.1 GW will require significant land acquisition, or approximately 1 hectare/1 MW, for ground-mounted installations. Floating solar PV will also be part of the plan, with the potential to utilize up to 20% of surface water areas.
To support the integration of all this capacity, Indonesia will also build a transmission network of almost 48,000 circuit kilometers (kms) and substations with a total capacity of 108,000 MVA.
Power strategy draws scrutiny
In an editorial, The Jakarta Post termed the RUPTL 2025-2024 plan at risk of becoming a ‘missed opportunity’ for the country’s sustainable development, saying that this is ‘not what we were hoping for.’ The plan basically frontloads fossil-fuel-based power plants for the initial period, leaving renewable energy projects for the latter half, but their realization will depend on the sufficient increase in electricity demand in the future in line with government projections.
It also states, “If fossil fuel-based power plants continue to run at high capacity due to contractual obligations, renewable projects risk being curtailed or underutilized,” adding that, “We should expect that this will translate into uncertainty for investors seeking to develop renewable energy projects in Indonesia in the coming years.”
Indonesia-based energy think tank and NGO Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), too, is not thrilled with the plan for the ‘still large proportion’ of coal, gas and nuclear power plants. It also points out that this target is lower than the country’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) commitment of 56 GW by 2030 and is not in line with the Paris Agreement targets.
“One of the factors that threatens Indonesia’s energy transition and the potential for an electricity crisis in the next few years is PLN’s inability to conduct large-scale renewable energy power plant auctions quickly, as well as the long-winded power purchase agreement (PPA) negotiation process,” according to IESR Executive Director Fabby Tumiwa. “As a result, the realization of renewable energy is low and the security of long-term electricity supply is threatened.”
It recommends that the government monitor the implementation and support PLN to achieve these targets by enabling policies and regulations, tariff policies and strengthening the auction mechanism.
Previously in November 2024 at the G20 Summit in Brazil, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had pledged for the country to build more than 75 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2040, including 27 GW of solar PV, to achieve net-zero status by 2050 (see Indonesia Announces 75 GW Renewable Energy Ambition).