PLN's Strategy To Encourage Indonesia's Economy 8 Percent Through Sustainable Energy Self-Sufficiency

New renewable energy (Photo: dock. unsplash)

JAKARTA - PT PLN (Persero) is committed to carrying out the energy transition as a catalyst for Indonesia's economic growth so that it can reach 8 percent. This is in line with the vision of Asta Cita from President Prabowo Subianto who is also heading for sustainable energy self-sufficiency in the country.

PLN's Director of Transmission and System Planning, Evy Haryadi, emphasized that his party is committed to supporting the government's vision of maximizing the use of EBT sources as well as encouraging national economic growth.

"Achieving economic growth is 8 percent requiring a safe and sustainable energy infrastructure. Without reliable electricity, we cannot achieve this growth target," said Evy, Thursday, November 14.

Currently, said Evy, PLN has designed the development of up to 75 Gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2040. In addition, the Company is also designing the construction of an electric transmission network entitled Green Enabling Transmission Line for 70 thousand kilometers of circuits (kms) in order to be able to distribute green electricity from EBT sources, the majority of which are located in remote areas to the center of demand.

Not only that, PLN is also preparing Smart Grid technology so that the national electricity system can accommodate the intermittency properties of the intermittent EBT-based electricity supply such as PLTS and PLTB.

"Infrastructure development of that size will certainly have a very large domino effect on the economy. This initiative will create many jobs for the people of Indonesia, both formal and informal work. New industries related to sustainable initiatives, such as PLTS manufacturers and batteries, will rise and through innovation and technology transfer that will increase local industrial capacity," explained Evy.

Furthermore, Evy gave an example of the large potential for EBT and energy needs in eastern Indonesia. Given, it has been planned to build several Special Economic Zones (SEZs) such as in Sorong, Timika, to Raja Ampat which require adequate energy supply.

"In eastern Indonesia, the potential for renewable energy development is very promising. New energy infrastructure can improve the regional economy. The additional capacity of one gigawatt generator planned in Papua alone is estimated to increase the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GDRB) in the region by 240 percent," said Evy.