SUN Energy: Demand for Industrial Solar Power Plants Increasing to Improve Cost Efficiency
The Chief Executive Officer of SUN Energy, Emmanuel Jefferson, stated that demand for solar power plants (PLTS) from the industrial sector has continued to increase over the last three to four years as an instrument to improve cost efficiency and energy resilience.
Jefferson noted that industries now increasingly view solar power as part of a strategy to make business activities more competitive. The use of solar energy is considered capable of helping to suppress operational costs while supporting the achievement of corporate sustainability targets.
“Solar power plants can reduce operational costs, with targets reaching up to 30 per cent, for example,” he said during the BIG Strategic Forum 2026 in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Jefferson mentioned that the need for more efficient and reliable energy is also becoming increasingly evident in the mining sector. Amid geopolitical dynamics and rising diesel prices, several mining companies are beginning to see energy issues not just as a matter of efficiency, but also as a matter of energy supply security.
According to him, these conditions are prompting mining companies that still rely on diesel to consider solar power plants equipped with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) as part of their energy sources to support operations.
From an economic perspective, technological developments have also made the costs of solar power increasingly competitive. SUN Energy noted that the use of solar power in sectors such as FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods), manufacturing, and automotive is currently at a competitive level compared to PLN electricity tariffs for industrial customers.
For the mining sector, the combination of solar power and energy storage has proven capable of offering lower costs compared to using diesel generators to support operations.
“Solar power with battery storage as a base load to support electrical operations has been proven to be cheaper than the cost of diesel generators, especially with the higher rise in diesel prices now. Therefore, the savings are there; they are real,” said Jefferson.
In addition to encouraging solar installations at the corporate level, SUN Energy also sees industrial estates as a gateway to accelerating the adoption of clean energy.
In his view, a district-based approach can accelerate the process because estate managers can encourage tenants to use solar energy collectively. This model is considered more effective than approaching each tenant individually.
On the other hand, developers are also exploring the use of available land within industrial estates to build larger-scale solar plants. Unsold land or areas allocated as green open spaces are seen as having the potential to be utilised for the construction of ground-mounted or floating solar plants.
The electricity generated can then be used to meet the energy needs of tenants within the area.
SUN Energy believes that collaboration with industrial estate managers provides opportunities not only to accelerate the adoption of solar energy but also to increase the added value of the estate through the concept of a green industrial zone.