State power utility PT PLN (Persero) noted that it has found obstacles in the development of new renewable energy (EBT) in Indonesia due to limited large areas available for the project.
Zainal Arifin, Executive Vice President for Various Renewable Energy at PLN, said that almost all renewable power plants require a fairly large area of land compared to the land required for fossil-based power plants.
“This is the nature of EBT, almost all of which are land-intensive if compared to fossil fuels. For example, if we compare a 5 MW wind power plant (PLTB), it only needs one room. But solar power plant (PLTS) needs 5 hectares (ha),” Zainal said on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
This condition is a challenge in itself to develop renewable energy power plants in Indonesia. Because not all communities are willing to voluntarily give or sell their land for the construction of renewable energy power plants.
The company must provide further education to the community to avoid misunderstandings. Because in several projects such as in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) several community groups reject and oppose the construction of the PLTB.
In addition to educating the public, the company is also looking for a way out for the development of renewable energy in Indonesia. One of them is by developing floating solar power plants (PLTS) in reservoirs or lakes.
On the other hand, PLN will also use state assets such as reservoirs and dams to build floating PLTS. With the area of land in the reservoir that can be used for Solar Power Plants (PLTS) of 20 percent, it can reach at least 14 gigawatts (GW).
“So that’s the solution, if there is a problem with the land, we use state assets, PUPR (The Ministry of Public Works and Housing). That’s one of the things we need to do,” he said.
