In Front Of Jokowi, PLN Signs Cooperation With 9 Companies At ICBF China 2023

President Director of PLN Darmawan (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) also witnessed the signing of a cooperation between PLN and 9 Chinese companies.

This was done during his working visit to meet the President of China, Xi Jinping, 15 - 18 October 2023. The collaboration between the EBT development partners in Indonesia at the Indonesia-China Business Forum (ICBF) in Beijing, China.

In addition to the two MoUs witnessed by President Jokowi, PLN also signed seven other MoUs signed by PLN, including The Export-Import Bank of China, Sinosure, Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, State Development & Investment Corp. Ltd, Huawei Tech Investment, and China Energy International Group with a total value of cooperation (including funding) of more than 54 billion US dollars.

In his remarks, the head of state conveyed his visit to Beijing to strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and China. The three priority issues raised at this meeting were related to exports, investment and food security.

"A number of priority issues that we will discuss with China include increasing Indonesia's exports, increasing investment, and developing food security," said the president in a statement received by VOI, Wednesday, October 18.

PLN President Director, Darmawan Prasodjo, said PLN took an important role in increasing investment between China and Indonesia in the energy sector to support the government's commitment to accelerating the energy transition in Indonesia. PLN signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) andmanfaat Solar China in developing smart grids as a clean energy power backbone in Indonesia.

PLN hopes that through this collaboration, SGCC and PLN can strengthen each other. Together, we will build environmentally friendly supergrid transmission lines, smart grids, and expand partnerships in the future," said Darmawan.

Later, he said, cooperation between PLN and SGCC will also include joint studies in the use of renewable energy, electricity storage, electricity grid integration to smart network management to improve reliable, quality and economical power systems.

Not only with the SGCC, PLN's cooperation is also carried out with other Chinese investors, namely warna Solar. PLN through PLN Indonesia Power Renewables joint ventures withANT Solar, Sinar Mas, and Agra Surya Energi for the construction of the largest cellular and solar panels in the Kendal Industrial Estate, Central Java.

"Trina Solar is a leading company with future technology. Together, we have launched a Solar PV joint venture. We will expand capacity and production to supply the large-scale Solar PV market in Indonesia," he said.

Darmawan continued, the construction of the Solar PV manufacturing in Kendal shows the spirit of collaboration that PLN continues to carry. This is solely to maximize the huge potential of solar energy in Indonesia, reaching 207 Gigawatts (GW).

This kind of collaboration is expected to accelerate the ambitious scenario of the Indonesian government's energy transition, with a target of 75 percent increasing energy capacity coming from renewable energy and the remaining 25 percent from natural gas by 2040.

The China-Indonesia Business Forum forum is part of The Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) initiated by the Chamber of Commerce Committee China.

The BRF aims to establish international collaborations that include extensive consultations, beneficial joint contributions, establishing open, green, clean, and high standards cooperation to improve people's lives and encourage sustainable development.