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Indonesia’s challenge to match growing energy demand with supply

Indonesia’s challenge to match growing energy demand with supply Lahendong Unit 2 plant Sulawesi, Indonesia (source: aecom.com)
Alexander Richter 24 Jul 2011

With its reliance on subsidized fossil fules, Indonesia has made not the great progress on renewable energy and this is being discussed in this great overview article in Inside Indonesia.

A recent article from Indonesia looks into the energy situation in “Southeast Asia’s largest energy producer and consumer. Its reliance on dirty and subsidized fossil fuels means it has made little progress in terms of renewable energy. Yet Indonesia has enormous renewable energy potential. Energy sources such as geothermal power could readily meet up to 40 per cent of the country’s energy needs.

Unless reversed, Indonesia’s current trends of expanding coal-fired power plants in order to respond to energy shortages and of heavily subsidising dirty energy will see the country fall radically short of its 2025 renewable energy targets. These trends will also continue to drain the country’s financial resources and deplete government budgets.

But switching to renewable energy won’t be easy. Removing fuel subsidies is a sensitive political issue. Promoting renewable energy requires structural adjustment and high levels of initial investment. Yet these are the conundrums which need to be urgently resolved if Indonesia wants to secure its energy, develop its economy and tackle climate change.”

For the full article that looks in detail on electricity shortages, the reliance on subsidies, as well as the potential and challenges for renewable energy sources, see link below.

Source: Inside Indonesia