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| An employee of Indonesia Power walks near a thermal pipe at Kamojang geothermal power plant near Garut, in Indonesia's West Java province in this file photo. Indonesia invested in green energy like geothermal power at a greater rate than G20 countries like the United States, India and Japan. (Reuters Photo) |
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Indonesia
beat G-20 nations the United States, India, and Japan in the rate of growth in
clean energy investment last year, according to a new report from Pew
Charitable Trusts.
After
passing the $1 billion mark in clean energy investment in 2010, Indonesia
recorded a whopping 520 percent growth in investment gains last year. It ranks
14th overall.
“The
country has an estimated 40 percent of the world’s known geothermal energy
resources, and 2011 investments were guided toward developing this natural
source of heat,” said the report, which was released on Wednesday.
Titled
“Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race? 2011 Edition,” the report examines key
financial, investment and technological trends in 2011 related to the clean
energy economies of G-20 members, with the primary focus being investment.
Bloomberg
New Energy Finance, a market research firm focused on renewable energy, was
Pew’s research partner in compiling and reviewing the data.
The report
also showed that global clean energy investment in the past decade has managed
to grow steadily by 6.5 percent to $263 billion in 2011, with G-20 member
countries’ accounting for 95 percent.
Overall,
the Asia/Oceania region held second place after the Americas for clean energy
investments at $75 billion, growing more than 10 percent in 2011.
“Future
growth is anticipated in the emerging markets of developing nations,” the
report continues, pointing to annual investment growth rates of 10 to 18
percent projected for parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America
in the next 10 years.
According
to the report, the increasing electricity demands of an emerging middle class
gives countries like Indonesia, China, Australia, and India more allure than
Europe.
“Deployment
of clean energy in Europe is likely to slow in 2012 as governments continue or
accelerate efforts to rein in incentives for clean energy technologies,” the
report said.
Paulus
Tjakrawan, secretary general of the Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association
(Aprobi), agreed with the report’s forecast, and sought to draw attention to
the significance of governments’ clean energy-friendly policies.
“People are
willing to invest if there is a positive market projection, and currently
[Indonesia’s government] has clearly shown its support for renewable energy,”
Paulus said on Friday.
He also
said that with the correct policies and education of regional governments, the
national government’s 2025 renewable energy goals — 9.5 gigawatts of
geothermal, 970 megawatts from wind power and 870 MW from solar — would be
achievable.
“But we
have to make sure that we’re able to produce everything locally. If we import
the components then it’s just going to be too expensive,” Paulus said.
The report
said investment in solar energy had increased by 44 percent, attracting $128
billion and accounting for more than half of all clean energy investment in
G-20 countries.
While
Indonesia’s geothermal energy capacity is estimated at 28 GW, only 5 percent
has been developed, a recent study found..
