Indonesia targets 75 GW of renewables as it aims to end fossil fuel generation by 2040

Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has announced his country will seek to phase out all coal-fired and fossil fuel power plants by 2040, pairing the goal with a target to build over 75GW of renewable energy capacity over the same period.

Speaking at the third session of the G20 Summit in Brazil late last week, Subianto declared that his country was “fully committed to taking decisive actions to reduce global temperatures, protect the environment, and address the crisis.”

“Indonesia is rich in geothermal resources, and we plan to phase out coal-fired and all fossil-fueled power plants within the next 15 years. Our plan includes building over 75 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity during this time,” he said.

This brings forward Indonesia’s goal of retiring coal-fired power plants from 2056 to 2040.

As the world’s fifth-largest operator of coal-fired power capacity at 52.3GW, Indonesia’s promise to transition completely away from coal could serve as a significant step towards decarbonisation outside of typical “Western” economies.

However, according to data from Global Energy Monitor’s Global Coal Plant Tracker, Indonesia has nearly 10GW of new coal-fired capacity already under construction, a further 5GW in various early stages of development, and zero megawatts retired since 2000.

This, despite the fact that Indonesia had previously committed in 2021 to stop building new coal-fired power plants after 2023.

Similarly, according to energy think tank Ember, fossil fuels accounted for 81 per cent of Indonesia’s electricity generation capacity, and only 3.3GW of new renewable energy capacity was added between 2018 and 2023, bringing the country’s total to 13GW at the end of 2023, or 19 per cent of the country’s electricity mix.

Analysts said strong political and policy support will be needed if Indonesia is to turn its back on coal.

“If the government is serious about speeding up the energy transition, efforts to shut down coal-fired power plants and prevent new permits for the construction of coal-fired power plants must be clear so that partners, investors and financial institution can see the pipeline and progress,” said Bhima Yudhistira, the head of the Indonesia-based Center of Economic and Law Studies, said in a written statement to The Associated Press.