Housekeeping

Day 1 Recap

Parallel Room Guides & Explanation

G20 countries represent 90% of gross world products and 75% of international trade - effectively making the group at the forefront of important issues, including energy transition and specifically solar energy utilisation. While Global North countries started their transition early on, G20 Asian countries such as China and India both have emerged as solar powerhouses. With different settings, context, and in-country energy landscape, G20 countries' experience in driving solar energy growth can serve as insights, lessons learned, and recommendations basis for each other and other countries to accelerate solar deployment. They are particularly important for emerging economies looking to jump start solar energy development, such as Indonesia. With Indonesia holding the G20 presidency for 2022, it is also expected that the energy transition agenda will incorporate rapid development of renewable energy to meet climate targets.

The workshop will draw lessons from selected G20 countries in fostering solar deployment and how they are relevant for emerging economies - including but not limited to: policy framework, fiscal and financial instruments, market readiness, and human resources development

Solar energy has shown the potential to become the backbone of Indonesia’s renewable energy development, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to support the net-zero emission (NZE) plan (Indonesia places the target at 2060 or sooner). To reach the 23% renewable energy target by 2025 according to Presidential Regulation No. 22/2017, 18 GW of solar is needed. The government also issued a national grand energy strategy with a target of 38 GW renewable energy by 2035 and prioritising solar energy.

IESR and BloombergNEF identified existing solar project pipelines of 2.7 GWac, with an investment value of US$3 billion. More investment, especially non-government funding is needed to jump start massive solar deployment; not only on the installation side, but also along the supply chain of the solar energy system.

The workshop will discuss challenges and propositions to break solar investment barriers in Indonesia, also facilitate investment opportunities for small and large scale solar project pipelines in short and medium term.

Solar modules have seen a dramatic reduction in cost over the years. Average selling price in US$/watt has decreased from around US$ 4.12/W in 2008 to around US$ 0.17/W in 2020. In terms of electricity generation, International Energy Agency reported in 2020 that solar is now the cheapest source of electricity in most countries. In Indonesia, the electricity produced from solar is contracted at 5.8 ct. US$/kWh, cheaper than most fossil fuels generation.

Study by Kavlak, Goksin (2018) deduced that increased module efficiency (supported by government-funded and private R&D) was the leading low-level cause of cost reduction in 1980–2012, contributing almost 25% of the decline. After 2001, however, scale economies became a more significant cause of cost reduction, approaching R&D in importance. Booming in solar modules manufacturing in China started from 2005 also helped further in bringing down PV selling price.

Looking at the historic development of PV technology, what will the future look like? The emergence of new cell architectures has made it possible to achieve higher levels of efficiency. The market shift in cell architecture has resulted from bifacial cells and modules, driven by the increased adoption of advanced cell architectures, such as passive emitter and rear cells (PERC), and by compatibility with other new innovations, such as half-cut cells and others.

In this workshop we aim to provide insights on solar PV technology development and future prospects. Additionally, we also want to discuss what role solar PV can play in supporting Indonesia's decarbonization pathway.

Indonesia has seen a substantial increase of solar energy users over the past three years - owing to government regulations, market opportunities, as well as interest from business players to utilise solar energy. The growth, however, is still constrained by limited awareness, hesitancy on price point, and doubts on solar technology - as it is new to potential users. Stories and examples of solar energy use are scattered across different sectors, and less on layman’s terms. Solar energy narratives need to be diversified, to boost adoption in a number of potential markets, including in residential, public facilities, religious buildings, and small, commercial businesses.

There is also growing concern on human resource readiness. At university level, renewable energy (including solar) has yet to enter mainstream curriculum and practices. Skilled workers needed for installation and maintenance, who can be trained in vocational schools, are also still a rarity. As green jobs in the solar industry will continue to increase, Indonesia needs a plan and preparation to seize the market.

The workshop will serve as a platform to highlight needs and recommendations to advance solar energy narrative in Indonesia and examine the necessity of solar workforce preparation, corresponding to existing education curriculum and its subsequent adjustments.

Day 2 Closing