INTRODUCTION
Solar supposedly represents one of the most promising sources of renewable energy for Indonesia.
Promoting the large-scale development of Indonesia’s renewable energy resources (including solar) has, however, proved to be a very challenging exercise for the Government due to a variety of reasons. One of the most intractable difficulties in this regard has been the weak financial position of the State electricity company (i.e., PLN) which, on several occasions, has caused the Government to “falter” in its supposed commitment to renewable energy development rather than take the action required to address the underlying reasons for PLN’s weak financial position.
Recent changes to Indonesia’s rooftop solar regulatory regime include some positive developments. However, these recent changes also provide another example of suboptimal decision-making by the Government when it comes to encouraging the greater use of rooftop solar as a potentially important element of the green energy transition. Once again, concerns about PLN’s weak financial position have, apparently, taken precedence over the widely recognized need for the Government to do more (indeed, much more) in making the green energy transition a reality for Indonesia any time soon. Put simply, the serious financial problems of PLN keep “getting in the way” of progressing the green energy transition and the consequent reduction of Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
In this article, the writer will review the latest changes to Indonesia’s regulatory regime for rooftop solar. At the same time, this article highlights how the impetus, for at least some of the more important recent changes, seems to have been PLN’s unresolved financial problems rather than, necessarily, any significant strengthening of the Government’s commitment to renewable energy development.