Indonesia will begin construction on a 145 MW floating solar power plant, estimated to be the biggest in Southeast Asia. National power provider Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and UAE-based Masdar have agreed on the financing for the project. The Cirata floating solar power project in West Java is a joint venture between PLN and Masdar and is expected to be the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia when it comes online in November 2022. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Societe Generale, and Standard Chartered Bank provided project financing. The project is currently under construction.
Indonesia plans to get 23% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025, and the government has stated that by shifting away from coal, the country would be able to achieve net zero emissions by 2060. PLN has announced that it will begin to phase out its coal-fired power facilities, which presently fulfil about 60% of Indonesia’s energy needs. Solar power may provide half of Indonesia’s projected 417 GW renewable energy potential, but less than 0.1 percent of that capacity has been used thus far.
PLN is an Indonesian government-owned corporation that has a monopoly on energy distribution and generates the bulk of the country’s electricity. It was also early to the renewable energy sector by producing 176.4 TWh in 2015. It plans to install floating solar plants on 375 lakes or reservoirs in Indonesia in the future, generating an additional 28 GW of power.
