The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has mapped several regions targeted for increased solar energy capacity in Indonesia's Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) PLN, phase two (2030-2034).
The largest is Java-Madura-Bali, with an additional capacity of up to 8,369 megawatts (MW). This is far more ambitious than the first phase (2025-2029), which planned for 2,563 MW.
Second is Sumatra, at 1,139 MW. This increase is also significantly higher than the first phase's 467 MW.
Then there's Sulawesi, at 1,025 MW, up from 506 MW in the first phase.
Next is Maluku-Papua-Nusa Tenggara, at 438 MW. This is a significant decrease from the 1,031 MW planned for the 2025-2029 phase.
A significant decrease also occurred in Kalimantan. The second phase only plans for 401 MW, a drastic drop from the 1,123 MW targeted in the first phase.
CREA states that Indonesia has enormous solar energy potential, estimated at 3,295 GW. Approximately 70% of the planned 17 GW increase in solar capacity is allocated to Java-Madura-Bali.
"This allocation appears to be driven more by the existence of grid infrastructure and demand centers, rather than optimizing the use of areas with high solar irradiance in other regions," CREA wrote in its report, *Indonesia's RUPTL 2025-2034: Fossils First, Renewables Later*.
The research team explains that the RUPTL 2025-2034 project shows that 4.3 GW of solar energy projects will be equipped with battery energy storage systems (BESS). The Sulbagsel network is designated for a 1.14 GW solar-based BESS system, while the Java-Bali and Kalseltimra networks will each have over 1 GW.
Generally, the RUPTL 2025-2034 allocates more, or almost half, of the new capacity additions over the next 10 years to the Java-Madura-Bali network.
According to CREA, despite significant shortcomings in the implementation of the first phase of the RUPTL 2021-2030, there is no visible "rapid push" to close the gap.
"RUPTL 2025-2034 targets a total of 1.5 GW this year, only slightly less than a quarter of the 5.3 GW target set in RUPTL 2021-2030 for 2025," said CREA.