VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

World Bank's Executive Directors on Saturday (11/9) approved the 380 million USD loan for the development of the first pumped storage hydropower plant in Indonesia. This 1,040 megawatt power plant is located in the upstream of Cisokan River between Jakarta and Bandung.

World Bank's Director for Indonesia and Timor Leste Satu Kahkonen in their official statement on Saturday said this project showed a turning point in the road to decarbonization in Indonesia. She added the World Bank will keep supporting Indonesia in achieving a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive development so that it benefits the Indonesian people in the present and in the future.

The hydropower plant development aims to increase the power plant capacity during the peak load, while supporting energy transition and achieving the decarbonisation target. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif said, Indonesian government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emission, among many through sustainable energy development, energy conservation effort, and clean energy technology use.

The minister further explained that the reduced emission from the energy sector was supported by many actions such as power procurement from sustainable power plants, and energy efficiency. More than 80 percent of electric power produced for the Java-Bali network, which provides power for 70 percent of Indonesians, comes from fossil fuel.

Arifin Tasrif said, the important effort to support decarbonization is developing an energy storage facility which allows integrating renewable energy into the power network. The pumped storage hydropower plant plays a key role in this approach.

Therefore Arifin said the facility potentially gives a significant increase in power plant capacity to fulfill the needs during the peak load. The same facility will provide a great storage capacity that allows renewable energy absorption in a greater amount, while reducing the transmission networks load.

As a result, a more eco-friendly and reliable power plant can benefit the consumers in Java and Bali.