Achieving Low Solar Energy Price in Indonesia: Lessons learned from the Gulf Cooperation Council region and India

The report identifies that Indonesia's solar energy growth lags behind India and the GCC region due to differences in land acquisition policies, policy enabling conditions, and investment risk. It suggests that Indonesia can lower costs by creating a stable investment climate, streamlining decision-making through intra-governmental restructuring, and reconsidering local content requirements, citing the success of long-term Power Purchase Agreements in the GCC and Solar Parks in India.

• Indonesia has failed to grow its solar sector despite aggressive policy targets, whereas India and the GCC region have seen significant expansion. The disparity is attributed to differences in land acquisition policies, policy enabling conditions, and a more stable environment that reduces perceived investment risk in the GCC and India.
• Successful renewable energy expansion in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and India is linked to clear national roadmaps—such as the UAE's Energy Strategy 2050 and Saudi Arabia's National Renewable Energy Program—and intra-governmental restructuring to streamline decision-making.
• The GCC region has successfully attracted billions in investment through large-scale projects delivered under long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that are considered bankable. In India, risk is lowered because the prevalence of successful large-scale projects has increased stakeholder understanding of project mechanics.
• The report advises the Indonesian government to reconsider its local content policy, noting that India has relied on imported panels to meet goals and has not seen promising results from safeguard duties or local content requirements.
• Lowering renewable energy prices requires a stable investment climate to reduce financing costs and the implementation of de-risking policies. Specifically, India's Solar Park policy is cited as a way to remove costs and risks related to land acquisition, which significantly increase project costs in Indonesia.

APA

Suharsono,, A. (2020). Achieving Low Solar Energy Price in Indonesia: Lessons learned from the Gulf Cooperation Council region and India. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/solar-energy-price-indonesia

Chicago

Suharsono,, Anissa. Achieving Low Solar Energy Price in Indonesia: Lessons learned from the Gulf Cooperation Council region and India. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/publications/solar-energy-price-indonesia.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Suharsono, |first1=Anissa |title=Achieving Low Solar Energy Price in Indonesia: Lessons learned from the Gulf Cooperation Council region and India |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=20 March 2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/solar-energy-price-indonesia |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{suharsono2020achieving, author = {Suharsono,, Anissa}, title = {{Achieving Low Solar Energy Price in Indonesia: Lessons learned from the Gulf Cooperation Council region and India}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/solar-energy-price-indonesia}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }