Clean Energy Can Support Development

AP/MARTIN MEISSNER

Wagons wait beside oil tanks in Wesseling, near Cologne, Germany, on April 6, 2022. Europe is staring an energy crisis in the face. The cause: Russia throttling back supplies of natural gas. European officials say it's a pressure game over their support for Ukraine after Russia's invasion.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Amid the threat of an energy crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Indonesia remains committed to meeting its target of net-zero carbon emissions (NZE) by 2060 or earlier. Indonesia has sufficient energy resilience and is able to accelerate economic growth through the utilization of cleaner energy sources.

The issue emerged during the Independent Economy Discussion with the theme Fight the Global Crisis with Energy Resilience which was held by Kompas daily in Jakarta on Tuesday (24/1/2023). The keynote speaker was the Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, who delivered his speech online.

The resource persons for the discussion were president director of PT Pertamina Power Indonesia Dannif Danusaputro, secretary-general of the National Energy Council (DEN) Djoko Siswanto, governor of Indonesia for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) 2015-2016 Widhyawan Prawiraatmadja, director of Transmission and System Planning of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Per- sero) Evy Haryadi, as well as executive director of ReforMiner Institute Komaidi Notonegoro.

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In his remarks, Airlangga said Indonesia must not be left behind in the energy transition. Indonesia must master technology in the field of clean energy, such as the technology for utilizing nuclear energy and hydrogen energy. Technology in the field of clean energy is one of the conditions for Indonesia to become a developed country.

”Indonesia can become a developed country by utilizing technology in the field of clean energy, such as nuclear or hydrogen power. There are still challenges for Indonesia to become an energy independent country even though it has abundant sources of clean energy," said Airlangga.

Indonesia can become a developed country by utilizing technology in the field of clean energy, such as nuclear or hydrogen power.

This challenge, said Airlangga, was Indonesia's dependence on imports of crude oil or fuel oil. In addition, there is an issue of affordability when it comes to energy prices. Unfortunately, the price of fossil energy is cheaper than the price of clean energy. Therefore, the energy transition requires cooperation and support from all parties because the central government cannot do it alone.

"Although [it is] still dependent on fossil energy, Indonesia continues to optimize the existing clean energy sources, such as biodiesel [which is made from palm oil] or coal gasification [turning into dimethyl ether instead of LPG]," said Airlangga.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO (TOK)

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto was the keynote speaker online in a discussion held by Kompas Daily at the Kompas Tower, Jakarta, Tuesday (24/1/2023) with the theme of the Discussion themed Against the Global Crisis with Energy Security.

Widhyawan added that a country's economic growth would always need energy. For Indonesia, which still depends on fossil energy to drive the economy, what needs to be done is how to reduce emissions from the fossil energy used. On the other hand, to reduce emissions, the technology used requires a lot of money.

"Therefore, an energy transition that also supports national economic activity requires time and changes in people's behavior. The transition process must still prioritize the principle of energy resilience," he said. According to Komaidi, the government's program in energy transition is already on the right track. However, the use of green energy in Indonesia is correlated with additional costs or investment. This is even more challenging when it is related to people's purchasing power.

"In addition, the increase in global fossil energy consumption, especially coal in 2020-2021, in the midst of an energy transition campaign, confirms that security and continuity of energy supply remains a priority towards the net-zero emissions target," said Komaidi.

Indonesia is improving

According to Djoko Siswanto, Indonesia is classified as "resistant" in terms of energy security in 2022 with a score of 6.61. This figure improved from the previous year with a score of 5.57.

Countries that are classified as "very resistant" have a score of 8-10. "Even with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has resulted in an energy crisis in many countries, Indonesia's energy security is still quite good," he said.

Djoko added that the energy transition Indonesia was currently undergoing did not mean completely eliminating the use of fossil energy, such as coal and oil, which would still be used by reducing emissions. In the national energy mix target, coal and petroleum are still being used in smaller portions.

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In the power generation sector, according to Evy Hariyadi, the use of coal is still ongoing while combining it with biomass (co-firing method). In addition, a number of coal-fired power plants have also been converted into natural gas-fired power plants.

"Indeed, the use of renewable energy is still slow. However, we must still consider energy security, energy affordability and environmental sustainability," said Hariyadi.

While its main business is fossil energy, according to Dannif, Pertamina is committed to supporting the energy transition, one of which is by developing geothermal power and utilizing biodiesel.

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.