Jakarta – Floating solar power plants (solar PV) and wind power are gaining traction in the upcoming Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) 2024-2033 period of the state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).
“Floating PV (FPV) has emerged as a promising solution to the utility-scale solar power land acquisition problem in Indonesia,” according to the latest report of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) entitled, Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook 2025.
This can materialise on the condition that the planning and procurement processes are executed correctly and according to schedule. At the same time, the lead time could be less than three years from the signing of the power purchase agreement (PPA), as demonstrated in the Cirata FPV project, it said.
With this advantage, upcoming Floating PV projects could lead the way in expanding utility-scale solar power capacity in the country.
The RUPTL 2024-2033 is currently being revised by PLN and government-related institutions. The power business plan is used as the basis for the company and business players in investing and developing power plants in the next 10 years.
As of September 2024, 41.6% of the 1.89 GW of solar projects in the pipeline are ground-mounted PV systems with capacities in the range of 10-50 MW, followed by FPV at 31.3%, the agency reported.
These projects will primarily be executed by PLN’s sub-holdings (Indonesia and Nusantara Power), under both majority and minority shareholder schemes.
Wind power development is relatively lagging behind solar power, as reflected in the previous planning document. Tanah Laut in South Kalimantan is the only on-grid project currently in the power purchase agreement (PPA) and construction phase, with its COD anticipated in 2025, it reported.
The PPA has been signed at a power price of USD 0.055/kWh, making it the lowest historical price to date for wind power.
The recent RUPTL 2024-2033 draft indicates greater interest from PLN in developing more wind power projects, with a total of 5.3 GW of projects in preparation.
Furthermore, PLN has initiated a discussion on implementing a bundling procurement scheme for multiple renewable energy projects. This includes a potential 1.9 GW of solar projects, 2.3 GW of wind projects, and 3.6 GW of hydro and pumped-storage projects scattered across Sumatra and Java-Madura-Bali systems.
President Director of PLN Darmawan Prasodjo said during a hearing with the House Commission XII in early December that the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is reviewing the RUPTL 2024-2033.
He said in the upcoming RUPTL, PLN will add the country’s electricity installed capacity by 68 GW from this year until 20233. As much as 46 GW, or 67% of the installed capacity, will come from renewable energy. (Roffie Kurniawan)
