Prabowo: 100 GW of Solar Power Plants to Be Built in Two Years

President Prabowo Subianto has revealed a government plan to build a number of solar power plants (PLTS) with a total capacity of 100 gigawatts (GW) within two years. Speaking at the launch of the mandatory B50 biodiesel programme at KM 57 of the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road in Karawang, West Java, on Thursday, the President explained that the PLTS is one of the ways Indonesia is building energy independence while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions. “We are being talked about globally. Why? We are leading in reducing carbon emissions. We are leading. They know we have the B50 programme, which saves 44 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. We reduce 44 million. That is just with B50. What about when it is also known, by world leaders, that we will build 100 gigawatts of solar power,” said the President before state officials and business representatives. The President added that PLN has already commenced construction of 17 GW of this solar power capacity in 2026. “100 gigawatts in two years. Can we do it? Mr Rosan, can we? A bit louder. Can we? Coordinating Minister for the Economy, can we? Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, can we? I am not asking you to execute it, can we do it?” Prabowo asked several of his ministers attending the B50 launch. The ministers he addressed, including Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of BKPM and CEO of Danantara Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia, unanimously affirmed their ability to meet the target of building solar power plants with a total capacity of 100 GW within two years. For the President, the construction of these solar power plants, along with the use of B50, is crucial for building national energy independence, given that energy is vital for the nation’s survival. “We are very grateful to God Almighty, we have been blessed with extraordinary gifts. We have very large geothermal reserves. We have coal reserves, still among the largest in the world. We have huge gas reserves. We have just discovered a very large gas field in the Andaman. We still have large fields in Masela, Southwest Maluku, in Natuna, in Kalimantan,” said Prabowo. Furthermore, the President shared reports from his staff regarding substantial reserves of compressed natural gas (CNG) spread across many regions of Indonesia. CNG is a fuel gas that can serve as an alternative to LPG. “We have also just discovered large fields and we have just learned that we have CNG. While we still import LPG, our CNG is very abundant, extremely abundant. In Central Java, the use of CNG is already very widespread and we will continue this, and CNG is available throughout Indonesia,” Prabowo stated.