Tbilisi, Georgia (ANTARA) - Indonesia is finalizing an early retirement package for a 660-megawatt coal-fired power plant (PLTU) as a pilot project for the energy transition, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.

"We are in the finalization stage of the early retirement package for the 660-megawatt PLTU which will be our pilot project," she conveyed at the Business Session of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Sunday.

Speaking at the session, which is one of a series of ADB's 57th Annual Meeting on May 2-5, 2024, she invited countries and other parties to support financial needs in carrying out the energy transition from fossil to environmentally friendly energy in Indonesia.

"Given the huge financial needs for the energy transition, we want to invite countries and other parties to support us," she remarked.

Indrawati mentioned that the transition to renewable energy presents serious challenges due to Indonesia's dependence on coal and other non-renewable resources.

The need to switch to renewable energy requires high costs that could pose a significant financial burden, she added.

However, Indonesia remains committed to achieving the target of 66 percent renewable energy by 2050. Indonesia has established the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) platform to accelerate transition progress, with ADB playing an important role in this.

Previously, Indonesia and ADB agreed on a commitment to accelerating the implementation of early retirement for PLTU in Indonesia, which was carried out within the ETM framework.

As an international financial institution that provides loans, guarantees, capital investment, grants, and technical assistance to developing countries in Asia and the Pacific, ADB has signed a non-binding framework agreement to support the cessation of operations of the 660-megawatt capacity PLTU Cirebon-1, which was supposed to end in July 2042 to be accelerated to December 2035.

The agreement was signed by ADB, state-owned electricity company PT PLN, and PT Cirebon Electric Power (CEP), as well as the Indonesian investment management agency (INA) on the sidelines of COP28 Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in early December 2023.

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Translator: Martha Herlinawati, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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