Indonesia reverses its decision to retire Cirebon coal-powered plant early

Indonesia's chief economic minister stated on Friday that it was unlikely to proceed with its plan to retire Cirebon-1 early. However, the country is evaluating other coal-fired power plants to be shut down early.

Cirebon was seen as a case study for early retirements of coal-fired plants in developing nations under the Just Energy Transition Partnership, a G7 funded initiative. Indonesian authorities missed a deadline last year after originally agreeing to shut down Cirebon by 2035, seven years before its expected lifespan. They also raised concerns over potentially higher electricity subsidy costs. Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia's Chief Economics Minister, told a Jakarta press conference that the decision to close older power plants "was based on technical considerations". He was flanked by JETP partners. He said that the Clean Coal Technology used at the plant was "critical, supercritical and relatively better". He said that shutting down older and dirtier coal-fired power plants will have a greater impact on the environment. Airlangga stated that the JETP had distributed $3.1 billion so far. He added international partners remained dedicated to the programme.

Airlangga stated that a number of projects totaling $5 billion were currently being considered for funding. These include the Saguling floating PV project, the transmission project on Sulawesi and the wind power project in South Sumatra.

The exact date of the fund's deployment was not known. Indonesia, whose coal is one of its largest export products, pledged to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2060.

Jakarta submitted to the United Nations this year more ambitious and self-determined targets for emission reductions by 2035. Environmentalists have criticized the plan for extending the lifespan of coal assets because it includes the use of Clean Coal Technology. (Reporting and writing by Fransiska Naangoy, Editing by Kate Mayberry).

(source: Reuters)