Reuters are reporting that President Jokowi inaugurated a 192-megawatt peak (MWp) floating solar power plant on Wednesday (08/11/23) on the Cirata reservoir in West Java as part of a drive to increase renewable energy sources and switch away from coal.
The IDR 1.7-trillion (approx. USD 108.70-million) project was developed by PLN Nusantara Power, a unit of Indonesia’s state utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and United Arab Emirates renewable energy company Masdar, a unit of Mubadala Investment Company.
“I spoke with Minister Thani from the UAE that this would be expanded to around 500 MWp and we hope more renewable energy could be developed in Indonesia,” the president popularly known as Jokowi told reporters, referring to UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.
The solar power infrastructure was built on Cirata reservoir, 108-kilometres (67.11-miles) southeast of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. A hydropower plant at the dam has an installed capacity of about 1,008 MW.
According to Tempo, the plant is the largest floating solar farm in Southeast Asia and the third largest in the world.
Capacity could be expanded up to 1,000 MWp, PLN chief executive Darmawan Prasodjo said, as the 13-arrays installed so far only occupied 4-percent of the reservoir’s surface, according to Reuters.
Regulations permit up to 20-percent of the reservoir’s area to be utilised by the solar plant, Darmawan said, adding that discussions were underway with Mubadala for the next phase of the expansion.
“This is just the beginning. The president instructed us to maintain the momentum so that renewable energy development could be escalated,” Darmawan said at the same event.
Reuters are reporting that renewable energy accounted for 12.3-percent of Indonesia’s energy mix in 2022, and Jokowi said that the target of 23-percent by 2025 would probably be missed.
“It is not easy because there was COVID-19 pandemic, we could not reach it. But our commitment is to keep moving to achieve the target we have promised,” Jokowi said, but he expressed optimism that Indonesia would be able to harness the potential of renewable energy from technologies available in the country, such as solar and wind power plants. The Cirata PLTS is a significant step for Indonesia towards achieving its renewable energy goals, say Tempo.
Source: Tempo, Reuters
Stock image by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
