Rooftop solar power plants (PLTS) are one of the solutions for utilizing renewable energy in urban areas where land is limited.

The community can also utilize the on-grid solar panel model to contribute to the development of renewable energy.

The government is currently implementing various acceleration programs so that the portion of renewable energy reaches the target of 23 percent in the national energy mix in 2025. So far, the national energy mix is still around eleven percent.

The government is also targeting net zero emission (NZE) by 2060 or sooner through, among others, a massive rooftop solar power development program. The program covers the household, ecotourism, industrial, and commercial and social building sectors.

"The development of rooftop solar power plants is a strategic program of the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry, not only in terms of energy but also as an economic driver. We are preparing an ecosystem so that the supply chain and utilization occur domestically," said the ministry’s Director General of New, Renewable Energy, and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), Dadan Kusdiana, during the inauguration of rooftop solar power plants in Jababeka Industrial Estate and the Jababeka Net Zero Forum Declaration, West Java, Wednesday, Jan. 11.

The Directorate General is discussing the revision of ESDM Ministerial Regulation number 26 of 2021, which regulates the utilization of rooftop solar power plants. The government is encouraging the optimization of the achievement of rooftop solar power plant utilization.

The ministry revealed that the ministerial regulation does not limit the capacity per customer as long as a quota for the development of rooftop PLTS is available. Electricity export is no longer considered as a bill deduction and the elimination of capacity fees for industrial customers.

In addition, existing customers will follow the new rules after the contract's expiration or an achieved maximum payback period of ten years. PLTS has become a solution to using renewable energy in urban areas with limited land.

The potential of rooftop solar energy nationwide reaches 32.5 gigawatts (GW) from household, industrial, business, social, and government categories. However, the utilization only reached an around eighty-megawatt peak (MWp) by the end of 2022.

Although the national solar energy potential reaches 32.5 GW, only 260 MW has been utilized for solar power plants. The national utilization of rooftop PLTS by PLN customers as of October 2022 reached 71.35 MW from 6,261 customers.

The industrial sector is the second largest final energy consumer after the transportation sector, with 264 million SBM (oil barrel equivalent) or 31 percent of total national energy consumption. The current trend of global market competition requires industries to create green products whose production processes use renewable energy sources.

The economy in the future will grow towards a green economy supported by a green industry. On that occasion, the ESDM Ministry also expressed its appreciation to PT Jababeka Tbk for encouraging the use of new and renewable energy by installing a rooftop solar power plant with a capacity of 230 kWp in collaboration with PT Pertamina Power Indonesia.

The addition enlarges the utilization of rooftop PLTS in the Jababeka industrial area, which has reached 3.5 MWp. The development of rooftop solar power plants is one of PT Jababeka Tbk's efforts in the initiative to achieve NZE.

Jababeka Industrial Estate already has eight tenants that use rooftop PLTS with a total capacity of 3,521.3 kWp or around 3.5 MWp. In addition, twelve tenants are considering installing rooftop PLTS, with a total capacity of approximately 4.7 MWp.

The commitment was then outlined at the B20 side event, where industrial groups/companies in Jababeka Industrial Estate signed a joint statement and announced the plan to become the first net zero industrial cluster in the Southeast Asia region and become the 1^2th in the world.

In addition, at the 2023 World Economic Forum Annual Summit in Davos, the Jababeka Net Zero Forum will be launched. The forum aims to gather ideas, opportunities, strategies, and plans for the NZE movement in Jababeka Industrial Estate.

Funding support is also provided to boost the utilization of rooftop solar power plants. The ESDM Ministry is also working with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Market Transformation for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency through Design and Implementation of Appropriate Mitigation Actions in Energy Sector (MTRE3) project.

The project provides a sustainable energy fund (SEF) incentive program for PLTS grants. The purpose of this SEF grant program is to provide incentives to rooftop PLTS installers so they can reach their economic value. The main objective is to encourage massive installation and increase better private investment in the renewable energy sector.

Writer: Kristantyo Wisnubroto
Editors: Ratna Nuraini/Elvira Inda Sari/Erik Limantara
Translator: Irvina Falah