Page 5 - AsiaElec Week 08 2023
P. 5
AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec
making its way to the national grid comes purposely makes their installation and subse-
from solar power, but the deal to help wean the quent move towards profitability difficult.
country off coal includes a 34% target of power According to Fabby Tumiwa, executive
from renewables by 2030. director of the Institute for Essential Services
Current renewable capacity generation Reform, and the chairman of the Indonesia
figures show that only around 12% of domes- Solar Energy Association, who was also quoted
tic capacity is green: for the most part this in an NPR report, this is because of a nation-
is made up of hydropower and geothermal wide price cap on coal prices.
generation. This in turn means that renewables pro-
As a result, concerns already exist that ducers are forced to lower their own prices. “It
renewable capacity will just not be ready to makes renewables actually very, very difficult.
carry the can when the time comes. They cannot compete in the situation where
Josh Ching, CEO of Solardex, was recently coal is actually subsidised,” Tumiwa added.
quoted as saying: “a lot of things that are In a nation where coal has long been, and
appearing on the news and to the public can for now, remains ‘king’, even the backing of
be quite different from what is being actually Japanese and US banks coupled with the sup-
implemented.” port of the sitting US president will prove of
Ching also said that the government limited effect in ushering in any transition to
charged with introducing renewables green in little more than name only.
Week 08 22 •February•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P5
