JAKARTA: President Prabowo Subianto has announced an ambitious plan to generate 100GW of solar-based electricity within just three years.
Speaking at the Japan-Indonesia Forum in Tokyo on Monday, Prabowo laid out the target before an audience of Japanese business leaders, adding the move is an urgent effort amid global energy uncertainty.
“For us, this is urgent, given the current situation,” Prabowo said . “We have a plan and are determined to implement it immediately.”
The solar power push is part of a broader reform agenda, Prabowo said, calling on international partners, particularly Japan, to understand the direction of his administration’s governance overhaul and economic transformation.
The 100GW solar target, which the government plans to deploy through the nationwide Red and White Cooperatives (KMP) programme, would require massive investment in photovoltaic farms, storage systems and transmission infrastructure.
Analysts have questioned the feasibility of the timeline, pointing out the cooperatives’ lack of technical expertise, the immense financial investment required and the current state of Indonesia’s domestic solar manufacturing, which experts said is far from ready to meet such colossal demand.
As a result, the programme may face delays or risk dependence on foreign equipment, undermining its domestic economic goals.
Beyond the energy transition, Prabowo said that Indonesia can no longer rely on exporting raw materials.
He stressed that the country is now focused on developing its downstream industry and industrialisation projects to extract maximum economic value from its natural and mineral resources.
“We can no longer be satisfied with simply exporting raw materials without adding value,” he said.
“Our critical minerals are strategic assets. Our mineral resources must be protected for future generations.”
Last July, Coordinating Food Minister Zulkifli Hasan stated that the government planned to accelerate the adoption of solar power at the local level through more than 80,000 newly launched village-level cooperatives.
The initiative, which could cost around US$100bil, would involve building solar farms of one ha to 1.5 ha in villages of every sub-district across the archipelago.
“If each village generates its own power, we will not need long-distance transmission like that provided by PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara,” the minister, who also leads the task force behind the cooperatives initiative, said in July.
Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform, also expressed reservations about the bankability and execution capacity of the KMP to lead Indonesia’s massive 100GW solar initiative.
He highlighted a significant misalignment between the programme’s scale and the implementers’ current operational readiness.
“Under current conditions, the KMP certainly does not have the funding capacity to execute this project,” he said last September, stressing the critical need for a financing mechanism involving the government and international financial institutions. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
