(Bloomberg) — Indonesia has opened a floating solar power plant in West Java, as part of a plan to tap its reservoirs to generate more renewable electricity.
President Joko Widodo on Thursday attended a rite marking the inauguration of the Cirata plant, located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the capital, Jakarta. Indonesia issued a rule in July allowing 20% of reservoir spaces to be used for renewable energy generation. .
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“This is a historic day because, despite everything, our wonderful dream of building a large-scale renewable energy project is coming true,” said Jokowi, as the president is known.
The floating sun is becoming popular as a blank energy solution for countries that lack available land or in places where land advances face opposition. Japan, South Korea and China are among the top adopters, according to BloombergNEF.
Cirata’s initial capacity is larger than that of sites currently operating in Southeast Asia, and larger facilities are currently being developed in countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam, according to BNEF data. It’s also smaller than existing floating solar power plants elsewhere, including China’s Anhui province.
Elsewhere in Indonesia, Sunseap Group has proposed a 2. 2-gigawatt plant on a reservoir on Batam Island near Singapore, while Reposttren Holdings Pte is planning a 2-gigawatt facility in West Java.
Accelerating the energy transition is a priority for Jokowi as Indonesia aims for net-zero emissions by 2060. There are about 248 reservoirs in the country that can be used to expand floating solar power plants, representing up to 262 gigawatts of generating capacity. according to government estimates.
There are plans to expand the Cirata power plant, operated through state-owned power corporations Perusahaan Listrik Negara and Masdar, owned by the Abu Dhabi government, to 500 megawatts, which would be the maximum allowed by the 20% rule.
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