Coal a Vital Resource for Indonesia's Energy Transition

JAKARTADAILY.ID – Coal is an integral part of Energy Transition efforts over the next few decades. This energy source will continue to be used in line with the world's steps in developing new Renewable Energy plants.

During the transition period, the use of fossil energy is still carried out as the backbone of power plants. This is because new and Renewable Energy (EBT) is still being developed until it reaches the targeted installed capacity.

The Executive Director of the Center for Mining Energy Law Studies (Pushep) Bisman Bakhtiar said that fossil energy is an important source during the Energy Transition process. The three fossil energies in question are Coal, oil, and natural gas.

"In these 10 years, dependence on Coal will still be very high, so that Coal is still a favorite commodity in the next few years," he told reporters recently.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) stated that the portion of the use of Coal as an energy source in Indonesia will reach 38 percent of the total national energy in 2021. This figure is the largest compared to other energies. Petroleum contributed 31.2 percent, natural gas contributed 19.3 percent, and new and Renewable Energy 11.5 percent.

Meanwhile, in this year's projection, Coal still dominates the country's total primary energy mix with a share of 34.5 percent. Then followed by oil 27.3 percent, natural gas 22.5 percent, and the contribution of EBT is targeted to reach 15.7 percent.

World Dependency

Bisman explained that the world's dependence on Coal is still very high. Although the government has planned to retire Coal-based steam power plants (PLTU), the use of this energy source is believed to be still quite large.

Moreover, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has stated that Coal reserves in Indonesia currently reach 38.84 billion tons. With an average Coal production of 600 million tons per year, these reserves are still available for the next 65 years. That duration is assumed if no new reserves are found in the future.

"There will be an Energy Transition. It's just not possible in this short time."

Director-General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ridwan Djamaluddin, said that apart from these reserves, the government has discovered that there are Coal resources of up to 143.7 billion tons. For this reason, the government encourages utilization efforts to provide welfare for all levels of Indonesian society.

"We still have a lot of Coal. We have 65 years spare life. Most of them are in Kalimantan and Sumatra," he said in a webinar some time ago.

Meanwhile, Executive Director of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) Hendra Sinadia explained that so far Coal has proven to be the cheapest energy source. Besides being cheap, this commodity also fulfills the elements of energy security. (*)