Solar Panel Installation in Industrial Sector Boosts Product Competitiveness
Jakarta (ANTARA) — His Muhammad Bintang, Head of Electricity and Energy Storage at the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), said the installation of solar power plants (PLTS) for the commercial and industrial sectors plays a role in increasing added value and product competitiveness.
“PLTS also has benefits in increasing added value and product competitiveness in a market that increasingly prioritises sustainability,” Bintang said during an online media briefing for the Indonesia Solar Summit 2026 held in Jakarta on Thursday.
He said IESR has seen rising demand for PLTS installations over the past three years from multinational companies, driven by corporate commitments and carbon certification rules based on greenhouse gas emissions, known as the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM).
The use of PLTS, particularly in the mining industry since 2015 with off-grid implementations using batteries, has become a more economical option, aided by falling battery prices, compared with diesel power plants using fuel oil.
Moreover, PLTS with batteries can supply 70-80 percent of the off-grid electricity needs of the mining industry.
“In fact, around 60 percent of rooftop PLTS customers are residential, but with a small number of customers, installed capacity is actually dominated by the industrial sector — if I’m not mistaken, around 80 percent,” he said.
Bintang said domestic industrial companies have also begun to take an interest in PLTS, for example in the cement sector, both for rooftop and ground-mounted installations.
Meanwhile, PLTS use is not limited to industry; communal and residential applications are also in demand. In 2025, interest in PLTS installed on residential rooftops and public buildings has grown further, contributing around 45 percent of the increase in national PLTS use, generating 1.2 terawatt-hours of electricity from 11,000 customers.
PLTS installations are attractive mainly for reducing electricity bills by up to 50 percent, and are also seen as a long-term investment because the payback period is no more than 15 years.
“Given the current situation, there is a possibility that electricity tariffs will rise, and this increase will certainly affect the value of the benefits of PLTS, which will grow,” he said.
However, there are several challenges the government needs to address regarding PLTS use in communities, namely the availability of operators to carry out maintenance and maintenance schemes that are acceptable to the public.
Bintang said PLTS could become a technological solution to support the dedieselisation programme, drive electrification, and enhance energy security, which the government could focus on for dedieselisation.