Remarks by Ambassador Blake at the Wind Power Forum, Jakarta
Director General for New and Renewable Energy Rida Mulyana, UNDP Country Head Christophe Bahuet, Chairman of BPPT Unggul Priyanto,
I am delighted to be here at this important event. A special thanks to the Forum organizer National Project Director WHyPGen Andhika Prastawa.
With the Paris Climate Change Conference less than two weeks away, this is a very opportune moment to review how to further catalyze the development of wind power in Indonesia.
To echo President Jokowi’s own words, the ambitious targets presented in the 35,000 MW power development plan are not merely objectives; instead they are requirements that must be achieved.
The successful execution of this plan will provide the affordable and reliable power that Indonesia needs as a backbone to grow the economy.
Hand-in-hand with the challenge of meeting Indonesia’s growing energy needs, there is the equally important challenge of climate change. The power sector is the fastest growing contributor to GHG emissions in Indonesia.
As Indonesia, the United States, and the global community face the major energy and environmental challenges of our day, we must work closely together toward solutions to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of economic and energy growth.
One solution we all agree on is to rapidly scale up renewable energy. We are doing that in the U.S. – renewable energy’s proportion of our overall energy use grew by almost 50% over the last decade.
Similarly, I applaud the Indonesian government’s commitment to develop 23% of the 35,000 MW from renewable sources by 2025.
This is no small challenge that Indonesia faces: expanding energy access to more than 50 million citizens still without it, while not adding proportionately to greenhouse gas emissions.
To meet this challenge, we have to use and promote innovative renewable energy technology that entrepreneurs are developing all over the world.
This will require investment in new technology to help us bring wind and other renewable energy sources to every community, including those on some of the more remote islands in Indonesia, where many people currently rely on diesel generators and building coal powered power plants is uneconomical.
Accelerating investment and development of wind power and other renewables in Indonesia will require more fine tuning of the tariff structure, permitting processes and financing schemes.
Achieving these objectives will require cooperation among all of the stakeholders, including policy maker, developers, wind turbine producers, and financing institutions.
Today’s Wind Power Forum is an important example of just that sort of cooperation.
The United States is partnering with Indonesia to achieve its clean energy goals through various forums and initiatives. Our efforts are at an unprecedented level and include:
- the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s $332.5 million Green Prosperity Program,
- USAID’s $15 million Indonesia Clean Energy Development program (ICED) and $1.46 million Capacity for Indonesian Reduction of Carbon in Land Use and Energy project,
- the U.S. Department of Energy’s $1.2 million Sustainable Electricity for Remote Indonesian Grids program, and other investments.
The USAID ICED program has supported PLN in analyzing the impact of wind power on the PLN system and determining what is needed to connect wind projects to the transmission system.
This support has facilitated nearly 250 MW of wind power project under development, including a 50 MW project in Yogyakarta and nearly 200 MW of projects in South Sulawesi. ICED will continue its support for PLN with capacity building for planning and operating wind power.
On October 26 in Washington, U.S. Secretary of Energy Moniz and Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said signed a memorandum of understanding to expand existing energy cooperation.
Two important areas the MoU covers are remote and off-grid renewable energy and assistance with the establishment of a Clean Energy Center of Excellence in Bali.
U.S. companies are also ready to help Indonesia develop a cleaner, more robust energy network with technologies and services that are unmatched. Two examples are on your agenda today: GE and UPC Renewables. Both have signed important agreements in Washington, DC on the margins of Jokowi visit which will further development of wind and renewable energy in Indonesia.
My team at the Embassy has organized the U.S. Power Working Group for Indonesia, allowing the U.S. private sector and U.S. government to work together to help Indonesia achieve its energy goals. Sixty companies have now joined the group, and it has the support of 11 U.S. government agencies.
U.S. companies are on the global forefront of energy development, and they are deploying their cutting-edge expertise and technologies right here to help Indonesia build its capacity for cleaner, more efficient power generation.
In short, there is positive momentum in developing renewable and wind energy in Indonesia. The US Government and US companies are proud to have played a role and we look forward to continuing these efforts, in close cooperation with many of the players represented in this room today.
Thank you.
As prepared.
