DEN: Conversion of Diesel Power Plants to Solar Power Plants Aligns with Clean Energy Development

The government seeks both resilient and increasingly clean energy. Jakarta (ANTARA) - Secretary General of the National Energy Council (DEN) Dadan Kusdiana stated that the conversion of Diesel Power Plants (PLTD) to Solar Power Plants (PLTS) aligns with efforts to develop clean energy and realise national energy resilience. “This aligns with international policies, enhancing resilience and developing clean energy. The government wants both: resilient energy but also increasingly clean energy. The approach is like that,” Dadan said when met in Jakarta on Wednesday. The government is preparing to gradually halt PLTD operations as part of the strategy to accelerate the transition to new renewable energy (EBT), with a primary focus on developing PLTS with a capacity of up to 100 gigawatts. Dadan assessed that the gradual energy conversion, alongside the completion of PLTS projects, needs to be supported by utilising existing alternative energy in each region, such as solar energy to geothermal. “If possible, the energy should be generated locally. PLTDs are located far away, in remote places. Transporting fuel there is difficult and expensive. So, shift to utilising local energy, for example, if there is geothermal, and certainly solar,” he said. Nevertheless, Dadan acknowledged that the transition is not easy, especially in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost regions (3T). He stated that the government had previously initiated a dedieselisation programme focused on remote areas. This programme aims to reduce electricity production costs, decrease dependence on fuel oil, and accelerate the transition to clean energy in Indonesia. “We have actually been pioneering this for quite a while; it was called dedieselisation before, and now it’s underway, with some approaches using gas, some using solar or others,” Dadan said. Previously, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia stated in March that the cessation of PLTD would be carried out in parallel with the completion of PLTS projects to maintain electricity supply stability. In addition, the conversion of PLTD to PLTS is also a government efficiency measure amid high oil prices.