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Navigating Indonesia’s Clean Energy Transition: Political Economy, Energy Justice, And Institutional Constraints In A Decentralized Developmental State
Issue Vol. 2 No. 02 (2025): Volume 02 Issue 02 --- Section Articles
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Abstract
Indonesia’s clean energy transition has emerged as one of the most complex and politically charged policy arenas in Southeast Asia. As a large, rapidly growing archipelagic economy with abundant fossil fuel resources, deeply entrenched energy subsidies, and a highly decentralized governance structure, Indonesia faces a uniquely difficult challenge in reconciling economic growth, social equity, fiscal stability, and environmental sustainability. This article develops an original, publication-ready analysis of Indonesia’s clean energy transition by synthesizing policy documents, institutional assessments, political economy perspectives, and justice-oriented frameworks drawn strictly from the provided references. The article interrogates the structural conditions shaping Indonesia’s energy pathway, including the National Energy General Plan (RUEN), electricity planning under PLN, renewable energy targets and reversals, fiscal and macroeconomic constraints identified by the International Monetary Fund, and the political economy of subsidies and decentralization. Particular attention is given to rooftop solar photovoltaics as a critical yet contested component of Indonesia’s renewable strategy, examining economic viability, regulatory barriers, local content requirements, and distributional implications. The analysis situates Indonesia’s experience within broader theoretical debates on green growth, energy justice, and state capacity, drawing on international literature to interpret how global investment dynamics, land tenure regimes, and infrastructure lock-in interact with domestic political realities. By employing a qualitative, document-based methodology and a deeply elaborative analytical approach, this article moves beyond descriptive policy review to offer a critical interpretation of why Indonesia’s clean energy transition has proceeded unevenly and, in some respects, regressively. The findings highlight persistent tensions between national ambitions and local implementation, fiscal prudence and social protection, and short-term political incentives versus long-term sustainability. The discussion further identifies structural limitations and future pathways, emphasizing that Indonesia’s energy transition cannot be understood solely as a technological challenge but must be analyzed as an institutional and distributive transformation embedded in the country’s broader development trajectory. This article contributes to the literature by providing an integrated, theoretically grounded, and empirically contextualized account of Indonesia’s clean energy transition, offering insights relevant to policymakers, scholars, and practitioners concerned with energy transitions in emerging economies.
Keywords
References
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