16 September 2025 (closed)
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Renewable Energy in Indonesia: Solar Power Through the Merah Putih Village Cooperative
The National Energy Board (Dewan energi Nasional, DEN) wants foreign investors to play a key role in the development of large-scale solar power plants through the Red-White (Merah Putih) Village Cooperative. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia stated that additional solar power through this cooperative will have a capacity of 80-100 gigawatts (GW).
Lahadalia stated in Indonesian media that “we discussed accelerating the energy transition, and we want to build solar power that is 1.0 - 1.5 GW per village. So, in the future, we will build approximately 80-100 GW in solar power". This is part of the government's effort to strengthen the role of new and renewable energy in the country's energy mix, while reducing its dependence on fossil fuels.
According to Lahadalia, this target cannot be achieved by solely relying on domestic solar panel production capacity. Domestic solar panel manufacturing is currently limited at around 5.0 GW per year. “Therefore, we will definitely seek foreign investors, who can also team up with Indonesian entrepreneurs and our state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including Perusahan Listrik Negara (PLN),” he said.
The plan to construct 100 GW of solar power plants under the Merah Putih Village Cooperative is a directive from Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to encourage energy independence in villages. The number of Merah Putih Village Cooperatives reportedly reaches more than 80,000 units.
Lahadalia added that solar power development under the Merah Putih Village Cooperative is also an opportunity for business players in the battery sector as these solar power plants will be built with a battery energy storage system (BESS). The solar plants only operate for a limited number of hours per day, and thus energy must be stored in batteries (to take over in the evening and at night).
Solar power plant development under the Merah Putih Village Cooperative will be carried out in stages. However, at this moment it is not clear when construction is to begin.