By Abdullahi Lukman
Indonesia plans to achieve 100 percent renewable energy within the next ten years, significantly earlier than its previous target of 2040, President Prabowo Subianto announced Wednesday during a press event with Brazilian President Lula da Silva in Brasilia.
Currently, around 80 percent of Indonesia’s power generation relies on fossil fuels, mainly coal.
The country remains one of the world’s largest coal miners and consumers, with many recent coal plants still in operation. Despite this, Prabowo expressed confidence that the transition to clean energy can be accelerated faster than expected.
Indonesia’s latest national power plan projects that 75 percent of new capacity additions over the next nine years will come from renewables, but still allows for new gas and coal plants.
The country’s rapid industrial growth, especially in nickel smelting, has driven demand for new coal-fired power stations.
In 2022, Indonesia signed the Just Energy Transition Partnership to phase out coal and boost clean energy development, but progress on this initiative has been slow.
Prabowo’s ambitious announcement contrasts with previous government goals, including those of his predecessor who aimed for net-zero emissions by 2060.
