Indonesia’s coal consumption for power generation is likely to rise by 3.1% next year compared to 2021, the head of the country’s state utility said on Monday, amid calls to pare back use of the fossil fuel.
Indonesia is expected to use 119 million tonnes in 2022, Zulkifli Zaini, the chief executive of state utility Perushaan Listrik Negara (PLN) told parliament, up from the 115.6 million tonnes of coal set to be used this year.
The increase comes as India, backed by China and other coal-dependent developing nations, brokered a last minute amendment at the COP26 talks in Glasgow at the weekend to change the final wording of their climate agreement to “phase down” rather than “phase out” the use of coal.
Coal demand by PLN itself is expected at 68.43 million tonnes next year, while 50.76 million tonnes is likely to be used by independent power plants, data presented by Zulkifli showed.
Demand from PLN is expected to slow in 2022, but demand from independent power plants is set to increase, the data showed.
Indonesia’s coal production and exports rose in the January to October period, the energy ministry’s director general of minerals and coal, Ridwan Djamaludidin, reported at the same hearing.
Production through October rose 9.4% to 512 million tonnes, up from 467.88 million tonnes in the same period last year.
January-October exports rose 36.6% to 367 million tonnes from 268.62 million tonnes last year.
Indonesia, the eighth biggest emitter of greenhouse gas in the world, plans to phase out coal for electricity by 2056, as part of a plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2060 or earlier.
However, the government in April raised its 2021 coal output target, raising questions about the country’s commitment to fighting climate change.
Indonesia set its benchmark coal price at a record high $215.01 per tonne last week on higher demand for winter.
Source: Reuters
