Prabowo's 100 GWp Solar Power Plan Highlighted by Experts, Villages Urged to Become Electricity Producers

Experts are weighing in on President Prabowo Subianto's recently launched 100 gigawatt peak (GWp) solar power plant (PLTS) program, with one key suggestion focusing on the role of villages in electricity production. Tiza Mafira, Director of Climate Policy Initiative, views President Prabowo's initiative to launch the 100 GWp PLTS program as a positive indicator, demonstrating a genuine political commitment to advancing renewable energy. "The 100 GWp PLTS program is a program that President Prabowo has strongly advocated for, and it shows political willingness from the highest level to push renewable energy," Tiza stated during an event in Jakarta on Thursday (3/9). She added, "There are many things that can be discussed from this, but the ambition for 100 GWp to be decentralized and specifically Solar PV is very good." One of the most interesting aspects, according to Tiza, is the initial idea to build power plants in a decentralized manner, including plans for their placement in villages. She believes that policies must be deliberately designed to ensure villages are not just consumers of electricity but also become producers of energy. "In my opinion, it must be intentional, carefully and deliberately designed, so that villages, village units, can become electricity producers," Tiza expressed. She suggested that villages could own or manage units that generate electricity from solar panels, for instance, through cooperatives or village-owned enterprises. Besides leveraging funding through the private sector and village funds, the involvement of state-owned enterprises like PLN in procurement is also seen as a way to accelerate solar energy development at the village level. "If left to market mechanisms, this is what happens: PLN will procure, private IPPs will enter, renewable energy projects will occur, which is good and necessary," Tiza said. During the program's launch in Bali on Tuesday (25/8), Prabowo emphasized the critical importance of the 100 GWp PLTS program in achieving Indonesia's energy self-sufficiency target. He aims for the 100 GWp to be completed within three years, though he expressed hope for it to be finished even sooner, within two years. "To give you an idea, the total electricity capacity of Indonesia right now is 88 gigawatts. From coal, from oil, from gas, from geothermal, all of that is 88 gigawatts. We will build 100 gigawatts," President Prabowo was quoted as saying in an official statement on Tuesday (25/8). The 100 GWp PLTS program is being developed through various schemes, including ground-mounted, rooftop, and floating solar power plants. This development is part of the government's efforts to expand the utilization of new and renewable energy while strengthening national energy resilience. The construction of the 100 GWp PLTS will be carried out in stages. In Phase I, the government targets the construction of a capacity of 17 GWp. In this initial phase, there are 14 PLTS projects with a total capacity of 5,216 megawatts peak (MWp) in various stages of development, from construction and groundbreaking to inauguration and tender preparation.