Indonesia launches 100 GW solar program, targeting completion by 2029

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Indonesian government has officially launched a 100 GW solar power plant program. President Prabowo Subianto stated at the groundbreaking ceremony that the government will seriously push forward the implementation of this program, aiming to develop 100 GW of installed capacity within three years.

The program will be implemented in phases, with the initial phase targeting the addition of 17 GW of installed capacity. In the first phase, 14 solar power plants are at various stages of development, with a total installed capacity of 5.2 GW. A report by Reuters added that two of these plants are already operational, six are under construction, and the remaining six will be opened to investors.

In terms of technical approach, the program focuses on deploying ground-mounted, rooftop, and floating solar power plants, as well as distributed and small-scale solar systems, to replace diesel-generated power, advance rural and village electrification, and strengthen national energy security and independence. The program will also include the deployment of battery energy storage systems (BESS) to support more reliable power system operations.

Coinciding with the program's launch, construction has begun on a 305 MW solar project and a 1 GWh battery energy storage system project in Gilimanuk, a harbor town on the western coast of Bali, which fall under the purview of Indonesia's state electricity company (PLN).

The 100 GW target exceeds Indonesia's current total installed power generation capacity of approximately 88 GW. According to Bahlil Lahadalia, Indonesia's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, achieving this target is expected to require an investment of approximately $73 billion and could create more than 5.5 million jobs.

In a statement sent to pv magazine, the Indonesian think tank Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) said that achieving the 100 GW target in less than four years is highly ambitious and requires innovative implementation approaches.

IESR believes that the program's success requires a strong and consistent national implementation framework, underpinned by regulatory certainty. The government must promptly designate the program's lead agency and empower it to coordinate work across ministries, PLN, local governments, industry, financial institutions, and businesses.

IESR Chief Executive Officer Fabby Tumiwa added that the program's success should not be measured by how many projects break ground, but by the gigawatts of solar power that are built, connected to the grid, and generating reliable electricity by 2029. The biggest challenge at present lies in translating the President's political commitment into an implementation engine capable of delivering tens of gigawatts of solar PV annually.

To this end, IESR proposed six priority measures: finalizing the presidential regulation as soon as possible to serve as the program's legal framework, and aligning the National Energy General Plan and PLN's electricity supply business plan with the new capacity; developing a clear annual project pipeline through 2029; accelerating procurement through competitive, transparent, and bankable tenders; ensuring power system readiness; developing the national supply chain; and adopting a multi-track implementation approach so that the program does not rely solely on PLN projects.

A report released earlier by IESR explored how Indonesia can mobilize the 100 GW solar target and warned against a one-size-fits-all approach to electrifying the 80,000 villages covered by the program. As of the end of 2025, Indonesia's total installed solar capacity stood at 1.49 GW, with more than 1 GW added during that year.