TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - According to Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), the government has set an ambitious target for the transition to new and renewable energy (RNE), supported by the country's huge potential of 3,687 gigawatts (GW). So far, the country has only tapped about 0.3 percent of this potential.

This was revealed by Ira Ayuthia Herdiani, sub-coordinator for RNE cooperation at the Ministry of Energy's Directorate General for New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation.

As of Q3/2024, the share of RNE in Indonesia's energy mix was only 13.3 percent.

"The potential is indeed very high, as its utilization is only 0.3 percent. But this is because the potential we have is also very large," Ira said in a seminar on "Time to Move to Inclusive, Gender-Responsive and Equitable Clean Energy" at Jakarta’s  Ismail Marzuki Park on Thursday, December 12.

In her presentation, Ira said that Indonesia's biggest potential is solar energy with 3,294 GW, but its utilization has only reached 728 megawatts (MW), or equivalent to 0.728 GW. Meanwhile, wind energy has a potential of 155 GW with a utilization of only 152 MW or equivalent to 0.152 GW.

Indonesia also has a hydroenergy potential of 95 GW, while only 6,698 MW or 6.69 GW has been tapped. There is also bioenergy with a potential of 57 GW and geothermal energy with a potential of 23 GW with a utilization rate of 3,426 MW and 2,597 MW respectively. On the other hand, coal gasification has been fully utilized with a capacity of 250 MW.

In addition, Indonesia has not tapped ocean energy at all despite having a potential of 63 GW.

Overall, Indonesia's total renewable energy potential is 3,687 GW and only 13.84 GW has been utilized.

Earlier, the Energy Ministry's Director General for New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), Eniya Listiani Dewi, said that in order to better utilize new renewable energy, quality investments are needed. According to her, investment in the renewable energy sector still lags far behind other sectors. By 2030 alone, Eniya said, the required investment will be around US$15.9 billion.

"Of course, currently for investment, we need an investment of US$15.9 billion until 2030, this is still far behind," in her presentation at the Kumparan Green Initiative Conference 2024 on September 24 at the Borobudur Hotel, Central Jakarta.

Vedro Immanuel G. contributed to this article.

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