THE ROLE OF ELECTRICAL POWER SECTOR TO ACHIEVED SUCCESSFULLY NET ZERO EMISSION TARGET IN ASEAN

---

January – February 2023
Summarized by Yogik Indra Lukmanto
Edited by Indonesia Smart Grid Initiative (PJCI)

The International Conference Series “The Role Of The Electrical Power Sector To Achieve The NZE Target In ASEAN” was hosted by PJCI (Indonesian Smart Grid Initiative) with the support of the Global Smart Energy Federation (GSEF) and contributed by The Ministry of energy and mineral resources republic of indonesia, India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), State Electricity Company (PT PLN (Persero)), ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), The Provincial electricity Authority (The PEA) Thailand and The United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia & the Pacific (UN ESCAP). Here there are points that can be taken from the statement of the material presented by representatives of policymakers as well as presenters at this activity. Many points can be made by raising the title, including the fact that many countries already have a roadmap towards NZE with the aim of the year that each country has determined, such as India, which according to Reji Kumar Pillai the president of ISSGF at this event put forward the percentage where India’s roadmap to achieve the target fully switched to NZE in 2070 and India’s Renewable Energy (RE) target being enhanced from 175 GW by 2022 to 500 GW by 2030. By expressing the opinion that the strategy to accelerate the realization of the NZE target is by

1. Retiring early fossil plants, solar photovoltaic revolutions and retrofitting of Thermal Power Plants,
2. Demand Side Management (DSM), Demand Response – Business Models 
3. Time of Use (ToU) Tariff Mechanism
4. Smart and Grid Interactive Appliances 
5. Instead of FGD, invest in ESS (Energy Storage System) distribution,
6. Promotion of Electric cooking and give incentives for cooking during surplus generation of RE
7. EV-Grid integration and make Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technologies also Promotion of RE for EV charging
8. Build Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) Dynamic RE Markets such as Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Trading of Green Energy on Blockchain Platforms and Carbon Markets
9. Smart “grid-connected” microgrids such as Large buildings and campuses to be made Grid-interactive with islanding features to provide flexibility to the main grid.
10. Envisages to set up green hydrogen generation facilities – electrolyzers run on RE. 

It is expected that this strategy will result in the use and acceleration of energy transition, particularly in India.

While the transition period in Indonesia is currently still being encouraged to use it to achieve the set targets, based on statistical data put forward by data books, it shows that the use of new RE in 2022 is relatively small and still very far from the set target. So that this continues to be addressed by the central government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, especially RE, so that the target of the RE mix and achieving NZE in 2060 can be achieved. According to Gigih Udi Atmo as a representative of the Directorate General of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) Republic of Indonesia currently, through the increase in NDC, Indonesia has succeeded in reducing carbon emissions by 358 million tons of carbon dioxide. Besides, in 2022, in the energy sector, Indonesia will be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 91.5 million tons. With these achievements, the MEMR has a roadmap for realizing the NZE in 2060, or maybe it will be faster than the target with:

1. Emission reduction: 93% from BaU, by optimizing supply side by using NRE and demand side by applying energy efficiency. 
2. NRE will generate whole electricity. 
3. More diverse new energy sources will also be utilized, including nuclear power plants and hydrogen for transportation. 
4. Application of innovation and modern technologies is also promoted, such as carbon capture and smart grid

In order to optimize Indonesia’s unique circumstances as an archipelagic country in which RE resources are widespread all over the country, a modern and integrated super grid is required, to establish resilient and robust transmission infrastructure in Indonesia. Interconnection investment will be reduced if REBID (Renewable Energy Based Industry Development) is implemented. Based on the roadmap above, it is very

In accordance with the APAEC goals, Improve Energy Connectivity and Accelerate the Energy Transition in Indonesia. Of course, with the encouragement and study of this concept, it will be very good for Indonesia, especially ASEAN members, because the concept of interconnection between ASEAN countries has many positive impacts in supporting energy supply and energy transition, in addition to reducing excess energy supply. The other hand, it can also strengthen the economies of ASEAN countries. 

At this international conference, the United Nation – Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) was represented by Matthew Wittenstein, who served as Head of the Energy Connectivity Section of UN ESCAP. Matthew said, in the Asia-Pacific region, electrification tends to increase, especially in poor countries where the use of renewable energy is increasing in line with the NZE achievement goals. According to Matthew, in the development of electricity, there are two things, those are opportunities and challenges, and there are three opportunities, namely Economy, Security, Continuity. While in the challenge itself there are 4 things, including political will, financing infrastructure, institutional arrangements and alignment with sustainability.

Electrification is a critical tool for achieving NZE. At the same time, the energy transition must ensure the secure and affordable provision of electricity to all. Achieving NZE requires decarbonization of the power sector through increased deployment of RE and zero-emission technologies and increased end-use electrification. In Indonesia itself, as an archipelagic country where the distance between islands is quite far from one another, this certainly influences the development of the concept of grid interconnection. However, based on the opinions of Matthew and Akbar, the implementation of Indonesia’s grid interconnection of electricity can be done with underwater toll cables, even though the costs of this investment tend to be more expensive than land ones. However, because the distance between islands is so great, a concept like this is better suited for implementing interconnection grids like those in Indonesia.

 

FULL ARTICLE DOWNLOAD HERE