Government Susun Regulatory For PLTS Development In Villages

Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan spoke at the Indonesia Net-Zero Summit 2025 held by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) in Jakarta, Saturday (26/7/2025). (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The government is preparing regulations for the development of solar power plants (PLTS) in villages in Indonesia as part of efforts to accelerate energy self-sufficiency.

In the Indonesia Net-Zero Summit 2025 event in Jakarta, Saturday, Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan said the rules in the form of Presidential Regulation (Perpres) are expected to be completed next week, with him appointed as Chairman of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Food, Water and Energy Self-Sufficiency.

The man who is familiarly called Zulhas said this initiative was in line with the 80,000 Red and White Village Cooperatives program launched by President Prabowo Subianto on July 21, 2025.

"Later we will build electricity based on solar panels. The investment has been calculated to be around 100 billion US dollars," Zulhas said, adding that currently Indonesia spends around 25 billion US dollars per year on energy subsidies.

"If energy subsidy funds are used to build solar panels, within four to five years, we no longer need to issue subsidies in the following years," he continued.

Zulhas said that later each village would allocate 1--1.5 hectares of land for solar panel installations. With a target of 80,000 villages, the total land to be used reaches around 120 thousand hectares.

He added that this electricity system is designed to be integrated locally, starting at the village level, then sub-districts, to districts, with energy storage using battery technology.

This initiative is expected to significantly increase electrical efficiency, considering that electricity and transmission costs through PLN are currently still relatively high.

"So later the solar panels will be based on villages, sub-districts and districts. And it is hoped that in less than 10 years, Indonesia will be sovereign in the field of energy, especially new and renewable energy," said Zulhas.

Presiden Prabowo Subianto sebelumnya menyampaikan energi terbarukan, khususnya berbasis energi surya berperan penting dalam mewujudkan selfembada energi di desa.

Prabowo said the use of solar energy was able to provide equal access to electricity, including in remote islands and mountainous areas.

"With solar energy, every village can self-sufficiency in energy, every sub-district and every district can self-sufficiency in energy, remote islands will have energy," said Prabowo during the inauguration of the operation of a number of geothermal power plants (PLTP) and PLTS in Bondowoso, East Java, 26 June 2025.