RI Has A Potential 3,600 GW, Minister Arifin: We Don't Need To Change Forests With A Solar Panel

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif said Indonesia has the potential for new and renewable energy (EBT) of up to 3,600 Giga Watt (GW).

Of these, 89 percent of them came from the sun.

"We have to be careful. We don't need to replace our forests with solar panels. We have to take care of it carefully," said Arifin, quoted from Antara, Thursday, October 27.

Arifin said, in the roadmap for Indonesia's energy transition, solar energy will play an important role in fulfilling the supply of national electricity development.

This is because around 21 GWs out of a total of 700 GWs of new and renewable energy capacity come from solar energy.

Although committed to running a low-carbon economy while supporting the net zero emission (NZE) target by 2060 or sooner, Arifin said the role of non-renewable energy sources such as natural gas plays an important role in developing it as a bridge before EBT technology reaches an economic and commercial scale.

"Intermittent solar (decoupled use of solar power) can also be overcome by applying technology between solar power and storage in hydroelectric or geothermal technology," he said.

As an archipelagic country, said Arifin, Indonesia needs a transmission network to drain electricity from electricity production centers to electricity consumption centers.

Indonesia is also planning to build a super grid transmission to provide energy access and overcome mismatch between EBT sources and areas that require large energy supplies.

"We also open up opportunities for EBT electricity exports to ASEAN members through the ASEAN Power Grid," he added.

Arifin invites all parties to contribute to implementing strategies to support the energy transition to a low-carbon economy.

According to him, not only the government and business people, the role of energy developers including users such as the commercial and industrial sectors is also needed to support these efforts.

"Support from local and industrial manufacturing is very important in order to create benefits considering that Indonesia has critical mineral and mineral potential as raw material for solar PV, batteries and power lines," he said.