The B20 Summit on 2022 concluded successfully on November 14, 2022, in Nusa Dua, Bali, for host Indonesia as the country’s major companies sealed four green energy agreements with foreign investors.
The four agreements are:
- Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (PNRE) – state-owned energy giant PT Pertamina’s subsidiary – signed a joint agreement with the ACWA Power Company to create main supply facilities for the Tuban Grassroot Refinery Project (GRR) & Petrochemical Project. The Saudi Arabia-based ACWA is a developer, investor, co-owner and operator of a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants.
- The Tuban project will facilitate the construction and development of a gas power plant with a capacity of 600 megawatts (MW) and a water desalination facility with a capacity of 1,600L/s, with a project fund of about US$ 1.2 billion.
- PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (INCO) – a subsidiary of Brazil-based Vale, operating in the exploration, mining, processing and producing nickel – signed a definitive contract with Chinese firm Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd. (Huayou), which operates in supplying cobalt.
- The deal is to establish a nickel ore processing plant to process nickels from Pomalaa block with High Pressure Acid Lead (HPAL) technology. Both companies will establish the first groundbreaking for the project after signing the US$ 4.5 billion agreement for mining, factories and other facilities.
- The famous South Korea automotive firm Hyundai Motor Company and PT Adaro Minerals Indonesia Tbk (AMI) – a subsidiary of mining giant Adaro Energy, operating in mining and coal metallurgy – signed an MoU in aluminum supply.
- The project is to establish a comprehensive system to produce aluminum through its subsidiary PT Kalimantan Aluminium Industry (KAI), which operates in the aluminum industry.
- PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk (BNBR) – a subsidiary of the Bakrie Group conglomeration which businesses include general trade, construction, agriculture, mining and investment – signed a Head of Agreement with the Envision Group (Envision Energy), a Chinese multinational corporation that provides wind turbines and energy management software.
- Both Bakrie and Envision have agreed to continue their cooperation in the environmentally friendly industry. The two will engage in developing Net Zero industry, which potentially could also establish a Net Zero industrial park in Central Sulawesi.
Risks on sustainable industry in Indonesia
Despite the rosy picture in the investment opportunities, environmental group Walhi (the Indonesian Forum for the Environment) has warned that the nickel ore industry was problematic for the society due to deforestation, water pollution and the violation of human rights.
Walhi states that firstly, the exploitation by mining companies has created forest destruction, polluted the sea and the environment.
Secondly, the nickel processing in the Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) and the occurrence of pollution have destroyed coral reefs as well as brought negative impacts on the lives of fishermen on the coast.
Thirdly, the destruction of traditional fishing waters has not only displaced 57,000 residents, most of whom were women and children from 80 villages, but also forced farmers and fishermen lose their livelihoods.
