IKN Most Ready Region in Indonesia for Virtual Power Plants, Says BRIN

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has stated that the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) is the region in Indonesia most prepared in terms of infrastructure for implementing the modern Virtual Power Plant (VPP) concept. A VPP is a digital power generation system that aggregates various small energy sources, such as residential solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage, to function together as a single large power plant.

Abdul Wachid Syamroni, a researcher at BRIN’s Electricity Technology Research Centre, explained during a discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday that one of the biggest challenges for VPP implementation in the country is the current state of the national electricity infrastructure. “Currently, our electricity system, especially the grid, is generally not designed for renewable energy or power plants that fluctuate based on the availability of natural resources,” he said.

However, Abdul clarified that this infrastructural unpreparedness does not apply to IKN. He noted that from the outset, IKN was specifically designed to accommodate such modernisation schemes in the electricity sector. This readiness is evidenced by the construction of the Multi Utility Tunnel (MUT), an integrated underground cabling system. “There are no visible cables as we commonly see. They have done underground tunneling. In that tunnel, three elements are directly integrated: electricity, fibre optic communication data, and gas,” he detailed.

For other regions outside IKN, Abdul stressed that implementing the VPP concept must be accompanied by mandatory infrastructure upgrades. VPP technology demands digitalisation, real-time data availability, and a robust cyber security system to protect electricity system data. Despite the general lack of readiness, Abdul noted that some large-scale private residential areas, such as those in Serpong, South Tangerang, Banten, are also infrastructurally capable of integrating with VPP technology because they had previously installed underground electricity networks.