Indonesia's captive coal on the uptick

The report finds that Indonesia's captive coal capacity tripled between 2019 and 2024, reaching 15.2 GW, with projections to hit 26.2 GW by 2026. This growth is primarily driven by the nickel, aluminium, and iron and steel industries. The authors argue that this trend contradicts Indonesia's climate goals and will cause significant public health burdens, including an estimated 27,000 additional deaths if captive plants are excluded from a 2040 coal phase-out. While some companies are adopting solar and hydro, the report emphasizes that renewable energy solutions are now cost-competitive with coal.

• Indonesia's captive coal power capacity grew significantly from 5.7 GW in 2019 to 15.2 GW as of July 2024, and is projected to reach 26.2 GW once all currently proposed and under-construction units are operational.
• Between July 2023 and 2024, Indonesia's total coal power generation increased by 15% (7.2 GW), with captive power accounting for 4.5 GW of that increase, nearly double the addition for the national grid.
• The nickel processing industry is the primary driver of captive coal use, with 76% of the 15.3 GW of operating captive capacity routed to nickel processing.
• Failure to include captive coal-fired power plant retirement in a nationwide 2040 phase-out target is estimated to result in 27,000 additional deaths and USD 20 billion in economic costs from cumulative health impacts.
• Air pollution from coal-based smelters and associated captive plants in the nickel industry is projected to cause 5,000 deaths and USD 3.42 billion in economic burden by 2030 under current growth trajectories.
• Solar-storage solutions are becoming cost-competitive with coal in Indonesia; by 2025, with preferential financing, they are projected to be USD 0.01 cents per kWh cheaper than coal, with the gap widening to over USD 0.03 cents per kWh in the next decade.
• The Indonesian government's revised National Energy Policy (RPP KEN) is criticized by civil society for lowering renewables share targets for 2025 to 17-19% from the previous 23% and implying a heavier reliance on coal until 2050.
• Indonesia's nickel industry is more emissions-intensive than other producers; its greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of nickel are 22% higher than the global average.

APA

Hasan, K., & Hummer, L. (2024). Indonesia's captive coal on the uptick. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/EN-CREA_GEM_Indonesia-Captive_2024_11.pdf

Chicago

Hasan, Katherine, and Lucy Hummer. Indonesia's captive coal on the uptick. Global Energy Monitor, 2024. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/EN-CREA_GEM_Indonesia-Captive_2024_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hasan |first1=Katherine |last2=Hummer |first2=Lucy |title=Indonesia's captive coal on the uptick |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=8 November 2024 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/EN-CREA_GEM_Indonesia-Captive_2024_11.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hasan2024indonesias, author = {Hasan, Katherine and Hummer, Lucy}, title = {{Indonesia's captive coal on the uptick}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/EN-CREA_GEM_Indonesia-Captive_2024_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }