PLN Steady On Retiring PLTU With A Total Capacity Of 19 GW Until 2045

President Director of PLN Darmawan Prasodjo. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo explained that his party is ready to carry out government directives in making energy transitions, one of which is through the plan to retire the steam power plant to support emission reductions.

PLN, he said, would reduce the number of PLTU by around 19 GW until 2045.

Then followed by the use of carbon capture storage (CCUS) technology in steam power plants that will still operate, to be able to achieve carbon neutrality in 2060.

"To carry out this plan, of course, we need the support of all parties. Because this plan requires a large amount of funds," said Darmawan in an official statement, Friday, July 15.

Meanwhile, the government also supports the plan of PT PLN (Persero) in retiring the Steam Power Plant (PLTU) as one way to achieve the Carbon Neutral target in 2060.

As a form of support to PLN, the government has designed an energy transition mechanism (ETM), which is a form of blended finance scheme to accelerate the early retirement of steam power plants and open investment for clean energy.

Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia Sri Mulyani Indrawati explained that the ETM financing scheme aims to improve energy infrastructure and accelerate the clean energy transition towards net zero emission (NZE) 2060 in a fair and affordable manner.

Sri Mulyani emphasized that the energy transition project is unavoidable considering that climate change has become a serious threat to the world.

However, this transition in addition to guaranteeing the future, must also maintain the national economy and the purchasing power of the people, especially the poor.

For this reason, Sri Mulyani invites all G20 members to give their commitments and initiatives in financing the energy transition through ETM.

"This is what we call blended finance as a shared commitment and determination to finance a fair and affordable energy transition," explained Sri Mulyani.

He also reminded, as one of the largest coal producers in the world, the energy transition has a big impact for Indonesia.

Especially for PLN to retire coal-based power plants early. However, relying entirely on NRE-based generators is also quite expensive and risky.

Whereas, on the other hand, PLN must ensure that it can provide a reliable and affordable electricity supply for the community.

"Our efforts to reduce carbon emissions play an important role in reducing global emissions. For this reason, we from the government will also create a policy framework that ensures this process is credible and benefits all parties," he said.