President encourages renewable energy for remote areas

MOSAIC-INDONESIA.COM, JAKARTA — President Prabowo Subianto affirmed that the government  encourages the use of renewable energy, especially for hydro and solar power as a solution for remote areas. According to the President, recent technology have made solar energy even more affordable. Meanwhile, the President revealed, small-scale hydroelectric plants can be harnessed in hard-to-reach areas.

“If there is solar and hydropower, there is no need to send expensive fuel from other regions,” the President said during a briefing to the Regional Heads of Papua and the Executive Committee for Accelerating the Development of Special Autonomous Development of Papua at Istana Negara, Jakarta, on Tuesday (16/12/2025) as quoted from the written statement of presidenri.go.id.

Furthermore, the President affirmed the government's commitment to realize national energy independence by setting up Papua as one of the strategic areas of energy self-sufficiency development. According to him, Papua has a huge potential of energy resources and should be exploited for regional and national interests.

“I think Papua has excellent energy resources and the Minister of ESDM has also planned that the regions of Papua should enjoy the results of the energy produced in Papua,” the President said.

In addition to renewable energy, President Prabowo is also directing the development of local resource-based energy through vegetable fuels. The move is part of the government's medium-term target to realise energy and food self-sufficiency across the region within the next five years.

The president reiterated that energy independence will have a significant impact on the fiscal strengthening of the country. Currently, Indonesia's fuel imports reach about Rp520 trillion per year. The president estimated that the reduction in imports could save hundreds of trillions of rupiah each year, which could be further diverted to regional development.

“Imagine if we could cut it in half, there would be 250 trillion. Moreover, we could cut five hundred trillion. Five hundred trillion means that each county can have, possibly can have a trillion each district,” he said.

The president added that the government has set a concrete target, namely that from next year Indonesia will no longer import diesel from abroad. Furthermore, over the next four years, the government is targeting a gradual halt to gasoline imports.

To ensure that the policy is effective, the President asked governors and regents, particularly in Papua, to coordinate closely with the development acceleration committee, the central government, Bappenas, and relevant ministries. Regional heads are asked to draw up key priorities according to the needs and challenges in their respective regions.

“There is no way we can solve everything instantly, but if we have the priorities of brothers and sisters, we will match the capabilities that we can do now,” the president said.