Indonesia will increase its renewable energy budget by a factor of five, with rooftop solar to be a “top priority”, according to local press reports.
Maritje Hutapea, director for energy conservation, told the Jakarta Post and other journalists that the 2016 budget would increase from Rp2.2 trillion (US$164.8 million) up to US$ Rp11 trillion (US$824.2 million). The allocation covers renewable energy programmes as well as efficiency policies.
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“For this year, development of rooftop solar-power systems will be our priority,” said Hutapea.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) is targeting office buildings, airports and government-owned properties. It hopes to site solar close to demand while acknowledging the shortage of space for ground-mounted solar near urban centres where land is also most expensive.
The pilot rooftop solar project will begin with government properties. Calculations on the level of the feed-in tariff are ongoing but the anticipated dramatic increase in budget is likely to increase optimism. Hutapea said it was hoped the FiT would be finalised before the end of July.
PV Tech’s publisher Solar Media is hosting the Solar Finance & Investment Asia conference in Singapore, in which Indonesia's renewables landscape will be among the subjects under discussion.
