IRENA says Indonesia could add 66 GW of solar capacity by 2030

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said that by 2030, solar energy could become the backbone of Indonesia's energy system. However, the country's own expectations fell far short of IRENA's vision.

According to IRENA's recently released "Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook" report, the agency expects that by 2050, Indonesia's power sector will undergo a "complete transformation". IRENA said the share of renewables in the country's power generation mix could reach 85% by 2050, up from around 12% in 2011.

Solar energy is expected to be the backbone of this transition. According to the "most conservative" estimates, photovoltaics are expected to account for 798 GW of the 1,000 GW total. In the "most optimistic" scenario, PV power generation is even expected to reach 840 GW. To do this, Indonesia needs to add 660 GW of solar power capacity to its power generation portfolio by 2030.

To achieve this, the country needs to invest $44 billion in solar energy, $39 billion in other renewable energy technologies, and $75 billion in grid infrastructure. Battery storage will require a $5.5 billion investment, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure will require a $22 billion investment.

However, Indonesia's own expectations fell far short of IRENA's vision. Under the "best-case" scenario, the country's 2021-30 electricity plan, released last year, sets a target of 23 percent of total electricity generation from renewables by 2030. The country currently has around 190 MW of installed solar capacity, according to Apricum.

In May, Saudi Arabian developer ACWA Power successfully won tenders for a 110 MW reservoir floating PV project, a 50 MW PV project on Sumatra and a 60 MW floating solar project on Java.

In April, Singapore-based Quantum Power Asia and Germany's ib vogt announced plans to invest $5 billion in a 3.5 GW photovoltaic project and 12 GW of energy storage.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia completed 51.2 MW of rooftop solar power capacity including commercial, industrial (C&I) and residential projects in January this year alone.

Source: www.pv-magazine.com