ASEAN Energy Business Forum

Investing in Energy Transition in Indonesia: Bridging the gap between Policy and Practice

Andrew Hudson, CEO of Centre for Policy Development, in a batik shirt stands at a podium giving a speech. The background behind him reads ASEAN Indonesia 2023. — Centre for Policy Development CEO Andrew Hudson addresses the 2023 ASEAN Energy Business Forum Photo: Lucky Lontoh, IISD

The ASEAN Energy Business Forum (AEBF), was held in Bali on 25 August 2023 alongside the ASEAN Ministers of Energy Meeting and East Asia Summit Energy Ministers Meeting.

The Centre for Policy Development produced an event at the forum titled Investing in Energy Transition in Indonesia: Bridging the gap between Policy and Practice.

The discussion focused on identifying and removing barriers to private sector investment in Indonesian green energy projects.

Cover of the ASEAN Energy Business Forum deck

Participants included Suncable, Quantum Power Asia, Indonesian state power generator PLN, and representatives from the Indonesian Ministries of Investment, Finance, and Energy and Mineral Resources, as well as policymakers from the Balinese local government.

The event included the perspectives of private sector investors on opportunities for green energy in Indonesia, and the policy settings needed to encourage capital flows.

Picture of two men speaking at an event in front of a blue backdrop featuring traditional Balinese architecture. One man wears a suit and tie, the other a batik shirt. — President Director of PLN, Darmawan Prasodjo (left) and The Head of Labour, Energy and Mineral Resources, Provincial Government of Bali, Bapak Ida Bagus Setiawan, at the Centre for Policy Development's ASEAN Energy Business Forum Event in Bali on 25 August 2023. Photo: Lucky Lontoh, IISD

Speakers noted that bureaucratic and regulatory barriers to investment have lowered, and discussed proposals to build on this progress.

These included measures to address market distortions created by fossil fuel subsidies and the prevalence of Take or Pay agreements leading to oversupply in the Java grid.

In responding to these concerns policymakers emphasised the importance of upgrading transmission, interconnectivity and grid integration, a key challenge in the archipelagic nation.

A group photograph of men and women in formal western and Indonesian attire smiling at the camera. Behind them sits a backdrop reading "Investing in Energy Transition in Indonesia: Bridging the gap between Policy and Practice" — Centre for Policy Development, Climateworks Centre, and NGO partners gathered in Bali for the ASEAN Energy Business Forum

Later, Centre for Policy Development CEO Andrew Hudson joined a high-level between 12 CEOS and 8 ASEAN energy ministers.

Mr Hudson and other CPD leaders met with senior officials in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.