"China’s Role in Indonesia’s Coal-Powered Industry Poses Challenge to Prabowo’s Green Goals" 15 December 2024

Indonesia’s energy transition strategy has sparked debate after conflicting statements from top officials about the future of coal power. 

While President Prabowo Subianto recently announced, at the G20 summit in Brazil, an ambitious plan to cease all coal and fossil fuel power generation within 15 years, a top aide has refuted the news and clarified that coal energy plants will not be phased out entirely by 2040...

Hashim stated that the plan is to gradually reduce coal dependency, or “phase down,” rather than immediately shut down coal plants... “Indonesia has not committed to shutting down all coal plants by 2040. Instead, we will reduce their intensity and supplement the energy mix with renewables, nuclear, and natural gas.”

As of September 2024, 93 of the country’s 201 coal plants operate as captive facilities, supplying energy to sectors like mining and smelting... Out of these, 33 captive plants in Central, South, and Southeast Sulawesi power Chinese-owned nickel smelters, fueling a key part of the global electric vehicle battery supply chain.  Similarly, ten captive plants in North Maluku support nickel operations tied to Chinese financing, such as the Weda Bay Industrial Park.  These facilities are indispensable for processing nickel ore but rely on coal, creating a paradox where high-emission energy supports clean technology industries...

In Sulawesi, Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry dominates ownership of the 33 plants powering smelters in Morowali and its Industrial Park, with Qingdao Zongsheng owning a smaller share. In North Maluku, major players include Jinchuan Group, operating in Kawasi, Obi Island, and Tsingshan Group, which owns the Weda Bay Industrial Park Self-Provided Power Plant.

Katherine Hasan, a Jakarta-based analyst at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), warned that Indonesia’s current renewable energy targets might fall short of what is needed to meet future energy demands... CREA’s analysis also suggests that, without further commitments to green energy, Indonesia might continue relying on fossil fuels, potentially increasing its emissions footprint.