Jakarta. Opportunities are wide open for foreign investors who wish to take part in Indonesia’s multi-billion-dollar plan of deploying up to 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power to its villages, according to a minister, as the coal-reliant country tries to cut down on coal.

The government wants Indonesian villages to install solar panels, which will have a total capacity of 80 and 100 GW when combined. President Prabowo Subianto recently summoned Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia for a meeting meant to put the plan in motion as Indonesia sought to jump-start the nationwide energy transition. Asked whether Indonesia would be open to foreign investments for this project, Bahlil admitted that Jakarta had to look for international partners, citing the insufficient domestic capacity. 

“Well, obviously. This 100 GW solar panel project is pretty huge in capacity. Our domestic industries can only produce no more than 5 GW a year," Bahlil told reporters at the presidential palace in Jakarta on Monday. 

“To this end, we will look for foreign investors who wish to partner with Indonesian businesspeople and state-run enterprises, including [the government-owned utility firm] PLN,” the minister said. 

This was not the first time the government pitched the solar plan. Senior minister Zulkifli Hasan told a conference back in end-July that Indonesian villages would dedicate between 1 and 1.5 hectares of land for solar farms. This entire initiative also comes with a high price tag, requiring approximately $100 billion in investments. The freshly minted village-based cooperatives are set to be central in the solar power generation plan. Zulkifli said at the time that the government was drafting a presidential decree.

The sunny Indonesia boasts between 3,300 GW and 20,000 GW in solar power, according to energy think-tank IESR. If the coal-reliant Indonesia can execute the plan, IESR revealed it could be Southeast Asia's largest rural electrification initiative. However, there are some challenges that Jakarta needs to keep an eye on during its preparation stage. This includes the project’s financial feasibility and the electricity load requirements. IESR’s chief executive officer, Fabby Tumiwa, told reporters that the government also needed to take into account the geographical conditions when choosing the location.

Bahlil did not go into details on whether Indonesia would offer incentives for the foreign investors in the project. Official statistics showed Indonesia attracted Rp 942.9 trillion ($57.6 billion) in the first half of 2025, some 45.9 percent coming from international investors. The statistics did not include any investment inflows to the upstream oil and gas, as well as the financial sectors.

Indonesia is home to over 84,000 villages.

Add as a preferred source on Google +