Jakarta – Indonesia has great potential to lead the global energy transition through the development of super grids, according to Secretary of the Directorate General of Electricity of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR), Ida Nuryatin Finahari, at the Electricity Connect 2024 launch event, Wednesday, July 17.
Super grids are electricity transmission systems that cover large areas, often transcontinental or multinational. With the super grid, electricity generated from new renewable energy (NRE) can be transmitted from outside Java to consumption centres in Java.
Interconnection projects such as Sumatra-Java, Kalimantan-Java, and Nusa Tenggara-Bali aim to deliver renewable energy potential to load centres and support the smelter industry and green hydrogen industrial areas.
“The development of this super grid is very important to maximise the utilisation of renewable energy in Indonesia,” said Ida.
She also highlighted various challenges posed in implementing the super grid, including the need for large investments, careful planning, and coordination between stakeholders to overcome geographical and technological challenges. Ida emphasised that the government certainly expects support from all stakeholders, both domestic and foreign, to finance the required super grid infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the President Director of PT PLN, Darmawan Prasodjo, stated that the utilisation of new renewable energy resources will not be maximised without developing inter-island electricity transmission in Indonesia. He explained that without transmissions such as smart grids, the utilisation of solar power plants (PLTS) and wind power plants (PLTB) can only reach 5 gigawatts (GW).
“However, by building smart grids, flexible power generation, smart dispatch centres, smart distribution, smart transmission, and smart meters, we can increase capacity from around 5 GW to nearly 30 GW of additional solar and wind plants,” Darmawan explained.
Darmawan also emphasised that maximising the potential of NRE requires considerable costs, especially building transmissions from NRE sources to electricity users often located on different islands.
“PLN cannot go it alone to maximise the potential of NRE in Indonesia. This is a tough task that requires the collaboration of all parties,” he added.
To achieve the renewable energy mix target, the development of the super grid is of key importance. With support and collaboration from various parties, Indonesia can realise its great potential in the global energy transition and achieve the renewable energy targets that have been set. (Hartatik)
