Indonesian Journal of Energy

Harnessing Carbon Trading and Life Cycle Assessments for Renewable Energy Transition in Southeast Asia

Stevanus Hendriarto — 2025-02-26

The climate crisis, caused by fossil fuel dependence and deforestation, poses significant socio-economic and environmental challenges for Southeast Asia, including reduced agricultural productivity and increased health risks. Our study aims to fill this gap by assessing how renewable energy can mitigate these impacts, focusing on the region's potential and the mechanisms needed to support this energy transition. Through a structured review of peer-reviewed articles, government reports, and data from intergovernmental organizations, we analyzed Southeast Asia's renewable energy potential and the roles of carbon trading and life cycle assessments (LCA) as enabling mechanisms. Our findings reveal that, despite projected increases in CO₂ emissions from 1.4 gigatons (Gt) in 2018 to nearly 2.4 Gt by 2040, Southeast Asia has set ambitious targets to reduce energy consumption by 23% and increase renewable energy to 22.1% within the same timeframe. Achieving these goals will require robust, adaptive policies that incentivize renewable investment and promote regional cooperation. Carbon trading and LCA are identified as pivotal tools, providing financial motivation for emission reductions and offering frameworks to assess the environmental impacts of energy projects. In conclusion, this study suggests that Southeast Asia’s renewable energy adoption, supported by sustainable practices like carbon trading and LCA, could significantly advance both global climate mitigation and socio-economic resilience within the region.

Illuminating Energy Efficiency

Firman Afrianto — 2025-02-26

This study introduces a ground-breaking method for enhancing urban energy management by integrating high-resolution night-time satellite imagery from SDGSAT-1 with detailed ground-truth verification of street lighting across major cities in Central Java and DIY. Utilizing the Glimmer Imager for Urbanization (GIU) with 10-meter resolution, this research precisely identifies different urban street lamp types and evaluates their impact on energy consumption. As the demand for public street lighting grows with urban expansion, there is a pressing need for efficient energy management to sustain urban development and reduce environmental footprints. This study focuses on Semarang, Yogyakarta, and Solo, aiming to assess energy efficiency by examining how different street lighting affects energy usage across various road network types. By employing pan sharpening techniques to enhance image resolution and zonal statistics for in-depth analysis, the research finds significant correlations, especially in the red spectral band. This correlation suggests the potential of using SDGSAT-1 data to estimate streetlight energy consumption where direct measurements are unavailable. The findings also reveal significant variations in energy consumption across different road types, attributed to varying traffic and lighting needs. By highlighting these disparities, the study underscores the potential of transitioning to LED lighting, which can reduce energy consumption by up to 69%. This research not only demonstrates the capabilities of satellite imagery in urban energy management but also offers practical insights for cities looking to improve lighting efficiency, reduce costs, and promote sustainability in urban planning.

Big Data and Satellite Imagery for Energy Efficiency Mapping in Indonesia:

Firman Afrianto — 2025-02-27

In the sophisticated realm of big data, analyzing energy efficiency in Indonesia has become crucial for identifying savings opportunities. This study utilizes large-scale raster data, including CO2 emissions from the OCO-2 GEOS satellite, nocturnal satellite images from VIIRS, and demographic and infrastructural data from WorldPOP and EsriWorld Cover. Through advanced regression techniques in machine learning—Support Vector Regression, Artificial Neural Network, and particularly Random Forest—the research analyzes and forecasts energy efficiency across various Indonesian provinces. The analysis highlights a notable increase in CO2 emissions from 2019 to 2023, with a significant reduction in night-time light emissions in 2020 due to the pandemic, which temporarily decreased human activities. Despite these fluctuations, the continuous increase in population density and built-up areas underscores the persistent influence of urbanization on emissions. The Random Forest model, which provided the most accurate predictions, indicates an expected rise in total CO2 emissions until 2030, driven by urbanization and economic growth, followed by a decline by 2045 due to targeted governmental policies. These insights contribute significantly to understanding the distribution of energy efficiency and support the development of sustainable energy policies in Indonesia. The study not only enriches scientific literature but also guides policy-making, offering a framework for tailored energy efficiency improvements. This research marks a pivotal advancement in utilizing big data and satellite technology to optimize energy use in a context that was previously underexplored.

Comprehensive Review of Carbon Capture Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation

Vita Meylani — 2025-02-27

The emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) significantly contribute to the rise in global temperatures and the exacerbation of climate change. Various initiatives have been undertaken to reduce CO2 emissions, notably through the adoption of carbon capture technologies. These technologies include Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU), Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and the integrated approach of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS). Our study aims to elucidate the operational principles of CCU, highlight the benefits of carbon capture, and provide recent updates on the application of CCU and CCS in daily contexts. Utilizing a qualitative descriptive methodology through a literature review, we examine the primary sources related to CCU and CCS from various databases such as Scopus, Springer, Taylor & Francis, and Google Scholar, covering the period from 2014 to 2024. As a novelty, our review covers physical techniques like absorption, gas or membrane separation, and pressure-temperature manipulation, alongside chemical methods such as the adsorption of amine compounds. Furthermore, biological techniques, including fixation, are also utilized. The operational framework of carbon capture technology is structured around three main processes: pre-combustion, post-combustion, and oxy-combustion. Notably, carbon capture technology incorporates the cultivation of microalgae as a fixation strategy, which promotes not only environmental sustainability but also shows significant promise for future applications. This method effectively sequesters large quantities of CO2 while requiring minimal nutritional resources. The advantages of utilizing microalgae include enhanced efficiency in CO2 fixation compared to terrestrial plants, reduced contamination, and a relatively simple operational structure. It is evident that the adoption of carbon capture technology is expected to increase in the coming years, particularly in light of the ongoing challenges posed by climate change. Prospective advancements in carbon capture technology are then discussed based on the review result. Thus, our literature review contributes to promoting the broader implementation of carbon capture technologies.

Regional Inclusive Green Growth in Indonesia

Rifqi Aqil Asyrof — 2025-02-27

This research develops a regional framework for inclusive green growth in Indonesia and assesses the efficiency of government expenditure in driving it. Using cross-sectional data from 33 provinces in 2021, the study constructs an Inclusive Green Growth Index (IGGI) based on economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability, following the Asian Development Bank’s framework. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is employed to evaluate government spending efficiency. This study fills a research gap by providing a standardized tool to measure economic inclusivity and sustainability at the regional level. Additionally, it introduces a novel approach by analyzing budget efficiency in promoting inclusive green growth across provinces. Findings reveal significant regional disparities, with Papua and Nusa Tenggara Barat lagging while Kalimantan Timur and DKI Jakarta lead. Inefficient government spending is identified as a key factor, though some regions, such as East Kalimantan and East Java, demonstrate better resource utilization. This research contributes by encouraging local governments to integrate IGGI into policy planning. The index helps the central government identify regional disparities and formulate equitable development strategies. Additionally, it emphasizes optimizing government financing for inclusive and sustainable economic programs, providing insights for improving policy effectiveness.

Feasibility Study of the Development of Ground-Mounted Solar Plants

Puti Cresti Ekacitta — 2025-02-27

Indonesia is building a new capital city in Penajam Paser Regency. The government aims to maximise the utilisation of low-carbon energy in the new capital. With a favourable location at the equator crossing, Penajam Paser Regency has a Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) index higher than Indonesia's regional average—1,753 kWh/m²/year—and a solar potential of 13,749 MW. Therefore, solar energy in this location has the potential to meet the city's total energy demand. However, the regency currently has no ground-mounted solar energy projects. Our study examines the technical feasibility of implementing ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) power plants in Indonesia's new capital city. It explores the technical and economic aspects of providing clean electricity and represents the first study of ground-mounted PV systems in the region. We compare the simulation results of Helioscope and PV Syst for designing a ground-mounted PV system. We then analysed economic feasibility by comparing two possible tariffs, which are the ceiling price and system generation cost. We reveal that the optimal PV system design has a 14.79 MWp capacity, producing 22.4 GWh of electricity annually. This system can be developed using a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) plan over a 25-year operational duration. Economic analysis yields an Internal Rate of Return of 22.99%, a Net Present Value of GBP 6,083,060, a payback period of 8.4 years, and a Levelized Cost of Energy of GBP 0.056/kWh.