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Private Sector Industries Call for Urgent Action to Decarbonize National Power Sector

  • Private sector industries see national power sector decarbonization as something that must be done sooner than later. 
  • Demand for electricity is projected to triple between 2015-2030 alongside population growth. 
  • Consumers, both individual and industrial, have been demanding for clean energy as a requirement for investing in the country.
  • Now is the time for Indonesia to turn commitments into action.

Jakarta, 16 November 2022 – The Indonesia Net Zero Summit 2022, hosted by KADIN Net Zero Hub in Bali last Friday, November 11, raised the theme of “Industrial Decarbonization at All Cost” and opened a discussion on decarbonizing the national energy sector and power grid. In the panel discussion “Decarbonizing the Power Grid”,

representatives of private businesses agreed that Indonesia must turn the national commitments into actions immediately. 

World Resources Institute (WRI) predicted in one of their working papers that Indonesia will experience an increased demand for energy and electricity as its population continues to grow, with the former projected to increase by 80% and the latter to triple between 2015 and 2030. Seeing the essence of electricity in society’s day-to-day lives, and considering the energy sector’s 72% contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, it is clear that Indonesia must take real actions to shift the power sector towards low-carbon. 

Alex Perera, Deputy Director of WRI’s Energy Program who was the chairperson for the “Decarbonizing the Power Grid” panel, highlighted that the increase in numbers of companies who adhered to the SBTi reflected the strong demand and growing solutions for corporations to decarbonize their power grid. 

Present for the session as panelists were Ika Noviera (Director Corporate Affairs of Multi Bintang Indonesia), Eka Satria (President Director of Medco Power Indonesia), Ken Haig (Head of Energy and Environmental Policy Asia Pacific & Japan of Amazon Web Services), and Agung Wicaksono (Managing Director of PT Jababeka Infrastruktur). 

Global Demands for Renewable Energy Push for Decarbonization of National Power Sector 

Eka Satria reaffirmed the big role that the energy sector plays in Indonesia’s economy, specifically in regards to achieving the Indonesia 2045 vision. Medco Power Indonesia sees climate change’s real impact and the need to provide affordable and sustainable energy, which drives the company to invest in renewables to help businesses shift from fossil fuels to more greener solutions. The President Director highlighted Indonesia’s rich potentials in renewable resources and mentioned Medco Power Indonesia’s renewable projects, including the company’s biggest PV project in Bali. 

“The world needs cleaner and better energy, and we are here to support that movement,” he emphasized.

With the same spirit, Ika Noviera shared Multi Bintang Indonesia’s commitment to shift towards renewable energy and reach net zero, noting the importance of reflecting internally. 

“We need to look at our backyard, our homework within the vicinity of our fence: What kind of energy do we use?” 

Being a multinational company, Multi Bintang Indonesia is aiming to keep up with its global head company to reach net zero production by 2030. The beverage company is leading the national net zero transition by shifting to biomass for their brewery. 

The global call for greener and more sustainable energies is further proven when Agung Wicaksono shared his experience of dealing with PT Jababeka Infrastruktur’s tenants who were claiming to be ready to move out of Indonesia should renewable energy supply fall short. 

“It is PT Jababeka Infrastruktur’s responsibility to aggregate the demands and voices of companies,” the Managing Director emphasized, noting their responsibility as an industrial estate developer to ensure customers and suppliers get what they need: Renewable energy. As a company that has power generators as subsidiaries, PT Jababeka Infrastruktur sees renewable energy as an opportunity rather than a challenge. 

Ken Haig gave a nod to the importance of aggregating voices in order to advance the energy transition by mentioning Amazon Web Services (AWS)’s initiative, the Asia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC), which gathers like-minded buyers, developers, and financiers to mobilize stronger policy and action. 

In terms of renewable energy, AWS whose product revolves around technology and not factories has its own way to contribute in the transition. Through AWS’s leading cloud computing system, the company helps businesses manage their energy needs and increase their energy efficiency. AWS is also accelerating the movement towards achieving net zero, optimistically moving the company’s emission reduction target from 2030 to 2025.

“If companies move to cloud computing today, we’re seeing up to 80% reduction in carbon footprints associated with IT work.” 

Collective Solutions to Answer Renewable Energy Demands and Accelerate Climate Action 

The demand for more renewable energy is clear, and the opportunity that comes with it is just as clear. This transition is a door to new solutions and offerings that can provide companies with their renewable energy needs. 

For Medco Power Indonesia, they believe that as demands are increasing significantly, support and collaborations will be needed to meet the renewable needs, be it in the form of incentives or regulatory frameworks. 

“This is a new start that calls for cooperation and collaboration between private sectors, governments, and the public to work together and turn commitments into action,” Eka Satria noted to the summit’s room filled with hundreds of participants representing various sectors. 

PT Jababeka Infrastruktur, uniquely positioned to offer solutions to tenants, also agreed on the importance of working together with other actors, especially regulators, to go green faster and keep national companies operating in the country to support achieving the NDC. 

“What we need now is acceleration of action,” Ika Noviera stated in line with Agung’s sentiment, voicing out Multi Bintang Indonesia’s optimistic outlook in seeing the net zero transition as a door to new opportunities. The massive demands for renewable energy reflect the industry’s voice to collectively decarbonize the power grid. 

“Ensuring renewable energy for all is important, instead of competing,” Ken Haig underlined.

The third panel of the Indonesia Net Zero Summit 2022 concluded with a collective voice from companies to decarbonize the power grid, as sourcing power by oneself will not be enough to mobilize an industry-wide decarbonization effort. 

Alongside WRI, Multi Bintang Indonesia, Medco Power Indonesia, Amazon Web Services, and PT Jababeka Infrastruktur, over 30 other panelists and 1.000 guests coming from over 20 different sectors also gathered at the Indonesia Net Zero Summit 2022, making it a new starting point to mobilize the national industry collectively and collaboratively at large.

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