Renewables make up just 14.4% of Indonesia’s 107 GW power capacity

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) reports that Indonesia’s installed national power generation capacity reached 107 gigawatts (GW) as of October 2025, with coal-fired power plants (PLTU) still dominating the system.

Acting Director General of Electricity at the ESDM Ministry, Tri Winarno, said that renewable energy power plants make up only 14.4 percent of the total 107 GW. He added that the government will intensify efforts to accelerate renewable energy development.

 “Of that total, hydropower remains the backbone, contributing more than 7 percent. This is followed by biomass at 3 percent, geothermal at 2.6 percent, solar at 1.3 percent, wind at 0.1 percent, and several other renewable energy sources that are still relatively small,” Tri said during a hearing with Commission XII of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Thursday (13/11/2025).

Tri noted that Indonesia has abundant and diverse renewable energy resources, but acceleration is needed for the country to catch up with more advanced economies that have expanded renewables as part of their energy transition.

 “In addition, our generation system structure still shows heavy dependence on fossil fuels, especially coal, which remains the main baseload source operating 24 hours to meet national electricity needs,” he said.

Read also : Indonesia continues building coal power plants despite capacity reduction

Although the government is pushing for energy transition to achieve net-zero emissions (NZE) by 2060 or earlier, Tri emphasized that Indonesia cannot immediately abandon coal-fired power plants given the country’s high electricity demand and the current limitations of renewable energy.

 “Our power system cannot simply phase out coal plants. Their role in maintaining system reliability is still significant, so PLTUs remain necessary. At the same time, we must acknowledge that decarbonization pressures are growing, both from national policies and global economic dynamics,” he said.

As part of the transition, Tri highlighted that gas-fired power plants (PLTG) will also play an increasingly important role in the national power supply, particularly in urban and economic centers.

 “Their flexible operating characteristics allow gas power plants to follow load changes, act as load followers, and function as peaker plants when electricity demand spikes suddenly. This flexibility is becoming increasingly important for integrating variable renewables such as solar and wind, whose penetration continues to rise,” he explained.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak