The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) in Indonesia has announced plans to develop a utility-scale solar power park of unidentified capacity in Eastern Indonesia. The idea is to build solar parks such as those in Abu Dhabi, Portugal, and Saudi Arabia, said the Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), Dadan Kusdiana.

 

 

Eastern Indonesia is the region of choice for the development of large-scale PV projects thanks to the area being dry, with good solar radiation and lower rainfall.

And the reason for Indonesia to chase 17,687 MW of solar power plant capacity by 2035 is pretty clear too—it is driven by economics since solar PV has become cost-competitive and is able to compete against fossil fuel plants, Kusdiana said.

 

 

Under the country’s National Energy Policy (KEN), it aims to have 6.5 GW of solar power capacity by 2025 scaling it up to 45 GW by 2050. However, till the end of 2019, it was still sitting on merely 198 MW of PV capacity, as per the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

 

 

Meanwhile, corporate solar power procurement is becoming a popular tool also for companies in Indonesia to lower their costs and do good on their environmental commitments. Earlier this month, tyre producer Elang Perdana had a big rooftop solar PV system coming online, installed by Cleantech Solar (see 4.5 MW Rooftop Solar PV System In Indonesia).

According to Taiyang News