Indonesia Actually Produces 11 GW of Solar Panels, Half of Which Are Exported to the US

Indonesia has a substantial solar panel production capacity of around 11 gigawatts (GW) per year. However, the domestic solar panel industry is currently facing its own challenges.

Member of the National Energy Council (DEN) Sripeni Inten Cahyani stated that the total national solar panel production capacity comes from a combination of domestic production of about 5 GW and capacity previously allocated for exports of around 6 GW.

Nevertheless, much of the production intended for export is now unable to be absorbed, following US policies that impose high tariffs on imported solar panel products.

“So in total, there is 11 GW of national PLTS production, part of which used to be exported to America and elsewhere, now it’s banned by imposing taxes—some at 120 per cent, some at 80 per cent. Isn’t that crazy? So they can’t go there,” said Sripeni in Jakarta on Tuesday (21/4/2026).

As a result, domestic solar panel production is now experiencing stockpiling because it is not being absorbed by the market. This situation is seen as risky to the industry’s sustainability, including the potential reduction in workforce if the conditions persist.

One example is the solar panel factory owned by PT Trina Mas Agra Indonesia (TMAI) located in Kendal, Central Java. The company has a production capacity of about 1 GW per year, but its operations are now beginning to be affected due to minimal market absorption since the start of production.

“Because there’s been none since it started production, no one has absorbed it. The only absorber is the quota PLTS. That’s why, as mentioned earlier, from 1.5 GW, the quota PLTS has truly become a dark horse,” she said.