Government to simplify regulations on waste-to-energy projects

By Febry Silaban

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) instructed on Monday for the simplification of existing regulations on waste-to-energy projects to help accelerate investment in the sector.

Jokowi said that there are huge interests among private investors to process waste into energy power plants but existing regulatory environment has been seen as a major obstacle.

He was speaking at the opening of a limited cabinet meeting on the processing of waste into power energy at the presidential office.

Jokowi said that accelerating investment in the waste-to-energy projects will help clean up the problem of huge pile of waste in major cities in the country. It will also help meet the government?s target for new and renewable sources of energy to account for 23 percent of the country?s energy mix by 2025.

Elsewhere, the president suggested for the possibility of providing subsidy to state-owned electricity firm PT PLN in purchasing electricity from waste-to-energy power plants to help accelerate investment in the sector.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak