Indonesia Invites ASEAN Countries to Develop Clean Energy Potential
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia has invited ASEAN countries to develop clean energy potential derived from renewable sources to build regional energy resilience.
President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto, in his statement quoted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday, revealed that the subregion has enormous potential to develop new renewable energy, ranging from hydropower, solar, wind, to fertile lands that have not been optimally utilised.
This potential constitutes one of the main assets in supporting the energy transition in the subregion.
“The question is whether we are ready to act on that potential. Not only to meet our subregional needs, but also to contribute to the ASEAN energy transition,” said the President in his speech at the Special Summit of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) in Cebu, Philippines.
Prabowo encouraged concrete steps by member countries of the forum to accelerate the development of clean energy in the ASEAN region.
Several highlighted steps include the development of hydropower in Borneo (Kalimantan), expansion of solar energy projects in Palawan, and utilisation of wind energy in coastal areas.
President Prabowo also exemplified several measures that Indonesia is currently implementing to accelerate solar energy development.
“Our energy transition is proceeding at full speed. We are building 100 GW of solar power plants. Together, let us enhance our energy infrastructure. BIMP-EAGA has great potential,” stated the President.
Meanwhile, after accompanying President Prabowo at the BIMP-EAGA Summit, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia revealed that the conference ratified the BIMP-EAGA Vision (BEV) 2035 document, which is a strategic framework adopted at the 16th Summit in May 2025 to make the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines region more resilient, inclusive, sustainable, and economically competitive.
This vision focuses on strengthening connectivity, tourism transformation, and economic development.
To realise this vision, the four BIMP-EAGA countries also established clusters focused on specific development sectors, one of which is the Power and Energy Infrastructure Cluster (PEIC), where Indonesia serves as Chair of the PEIC for the 2022-2025 period, followed by Malaysia for the 2026-2029 period.
“The results of this cluster include electricity grid interconnection projects, renewable energy projects, rural electrification, and energy efficiency and conservation programmes. These programmes will strengthen subregional collaboration, enabling communities in remote areas to access affordable energy for improved welfare,” said Bahlil.
Furthermore, Bahlil stated that the Ministry of ESDM has been implementing in line with the President’s directives on energy transition, namely by increasing the share of new renewable energy; utilising new energy sources such as hydrogen, nuclear, and ammonia; promoting electric vehicles (EV); energy efficiency; a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants; and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCS/CCUS).
“We are also promoting solar power utilisation to achieve 100 GW of solar power plants to reduce fossil fuel usage. Of course, this requires collaboration from many parties to accomplish the task,” said Bahlil.