Renewable Energy on Islands: Lessons for Indonesia to Apply

The purpose of this article is to review and analyse the development of applied renewable energy in Indonesia. Indonesia has achieved 91.16% electrification rate in 2016, and in 2024 planned to achieve 100% electrification for its population. Lack of electricity access, however, is common throughout Indonesia. Provinces in eastern Indonesia such as Nusa Tenggara Timur and Papua Barat has the lowest electrification ratio, while provinces such as Nusa Tenggara Barat, Sulawesi Tenggara, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Utara, and Kepulauan Riau has less than 80% electrification rate. Out of the 34 provinces, only Bangka Belitung, Jawa Barat, and Jakarta have the electrification ratio above 99% in 2016. Providing electricity access to the population is proven to be difficult due to Indonesia’s archipelagic geography which acted as a barrier and poses a challenge in electrification efforts. Studies, however, have shown the potential use and application of renewable energy to provide electricity to islands and archipelagos. It is therefore important for Indonesia to take note that renewable energy initiatives, particularly on islands and archipelagos, are not only yielding positive results socially, economically, and environmentally, but it is also viable and feasible to implement.