Heaptalk, Jakarta — The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is collaborating with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) to build floating solar power plants, also known as solar photovoltaic (PV), on the surface of reservoirs.
The construction of these floating solar power plants is estimated to boost capacity by up to 14 gigawatts (GW). To achieve Net Zero Emission (NZE) by 2060, Indonesia needs to optimize its renewable energy potential (EBT) to replace fossil energy. With a renewable energy potential of nearly four terawatts (TW), replacing fossil fuels is feasible if utilization is enhanced. One promising step is the development of floating solar power plants on reservoir surfaces, which have a capacity of up to 14 GW.
“By utilizing floating PV on several dam surfaces managed by the Ministry of PUPR, we can accelerate the addition of another 14 GW. The Ministry of ESDM has received approval from the Minister of PUPR to increase the installed capacity of solar power plants (PLTS) that use reservoirs owned by the Ministry of PUPR,” said Hendra Iswahyudi, Director of Energy Conservation at EBTKE during the Thematic Forum of the Public Relations Coordinating Body (Bakohumas) in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday (09/12).
Ministry of PUPR as dam manager
As the dam manager, the approval from the Ministry of PUPR for the construction of floating solar PV opens up significant opportunities for using reservoir surfaces to generate renewable energy. Hendra added, “Minister Basuki has sent a letter to the Ministry of ESDM agreeing to expand the percentage of lake or reservoir surface area that can be utilized from the previous 5% to 25%.”
Furthermore, Hendra revealed that the potential for 14.7 GW of electricity capacity comes from 257 reservoirs spread across regions such as Java-Bali, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Nusa Tenggara. “This, surely, needs to be inventoried since we need to align the potential, grid readiness, and when it will be included in the Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) according to the Commercial Operation Date (COD), which has been communicated with Gatrik and PLN. Hence, we will look at when it will be part of the plan,” Hendra added.
The potential for installing floating solar PV on the surface of reservoirs owned by the Ministry of PUPR reaches 89.7 GW, spread across 293 locations. Out of that, 257 locations with a potential of 14.7 GW are properties owned by the Ministry of PUPR. The distribution of these reservoirs is as follows: Java-Bali 9,076.95 MW (114 locations); Sumatra 1,967.56 MW (17 locations); Kalimantan 690.22 MW (11 locations); Sulawesi 1,646.84 MW (15 locations); and Maluku-Nusa Tenggara 1,320.14 MW (100 locations).
Meanwhile, the potential from 36 lake locations amounts to 74.66 GW, distributed as follows: Java-Bali 641.3 MW (2 locations); Sumatra 34,867.9 MW (12 locations); Kalimantan 2,437.9 MW (3 locations); Sulawesi 24,415.6 MW (6 locations); and Maluku-Papua-Nusa Tenggara 12,302.4 MW (13 locations). “As of July 2024, the installed capacity of floating solar PV has reached 193.01 MW,” Hendra concluded.
