Indonesia utility will finish building 20GW of coal capacity before turning to renewables.

Indonesia’s biggest utility has pledged to stop building new coal power plants beyond its current pipeline of projects. 

In a briefing to Indonesian media, Zulkifi Zaini, president of the state-owned electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), said the company would invest in renewables and aim to become carbon neutral by 2050.

“After we finish developing the [35GW of additional power generating capacity], we will fulfil Indonesia’s electricity needs using only renewable energy,” Zulkifi said.

Indonesian analysts and campaigners told Climate Home News the move was a “good sign”. But they warned that by continuing to build already approved power plants, Indonesia was burdening itself with assets that would become stranded while damaging citizens’ health and contributing to the climate crisis.

13 May 2021

IEEFA