Response to COP26, UPC Renewables Ready to Deliver Cleaner, Green, Renewable Power
JAKARTA, 5 November 2021 — PT UPC Sidrap Bayu Energi, Sidrap Windfarm, Operations and Maintenance Team, part of the multinational company, UPC Renewables has successfully completed the annual maintenance overhaul of 30 advanced technology wind turbines operating at its windfarm in South Sulawesi.
The Wind turbine maintenance has been carried out by the Elite Team of internationally trained professionals who came together as a Team in 2018 to learn and develop their skills in maintaining wind turbines often 80m above ground level. These turbines are Indonesia’s first, as inaugurated by President Jokowi in July 2018.
Not only does this important milestone mark the start of readiness for the change in the wind seasons, as Indonesia’s premier Windfarm Asset continues to excel with > 99% mechanical availability but this project milestone also marks the international positioning for Indonesia as numerous world leaders deliver their commitment to climate change and their respective action plans in Glasgow — COP26.
COP26, seen as the Ultimate climate change showdown has drawn a firm focus on the pace and determination Indonesia needs to embrace in the delivery of its RUPTL to meet the short terms 2024/2025 goals, with, for example, a major planned expansion of the Sidrap windfarm, as well as other strategic windfarms in West Java, South Kalimantan, and Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). These projects are on the “must be delivered” list pre-2024, only now 24 months away.
This state of readiness emanating from the Sidrap Project mirrors the national perspective at the very time the spotlight shines hard on Indonesia, not just related to the past lackluster investment opportunities in renewable energy, but as delivery of pre-set RUPTL targets have a history of underperformance too.
The achievement of the RUPTL targets will be of concern to the international community, as it’s time for Indonesia to make a meaningful breakthrough to increase renewable energy projects delivery within the next 24 months.
It’s a challenging target for Indonesia, particularly after a long period of slow progress, but those involved in this seedling of industry are ready for the challenge, including UPC Renewables.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is still lagging behind in realizing investment in renewable energy assets, seeing Vietnam succeed at a tremendous pace. Vietnam has been able, even during the Covid-19 pandemic to deliver renewable energy investment of 17GW of new renewable energy assets versus Indonesia’s 2GW.
And with exponential Coal prices impacting PLN’s cost base hard and solar panel pricing on a vertical cost hike, likely until Q4 2022 due to serious energy supply chain problems.
The savior of the short term will be Wind projects; especially those who have invested in the assets and skills and thus can “answer the Pre- Qualification” call to arms; when PLN diligently filters the procurement process to real “Ready” bidders in December 2021, mitigating previous failures in the procurement process and engineering a new focus to deliver COD’s and PPA’s at the pace required to underwrite success.
Thus, the Operation and Maintenance Team at Sidrap fully supports Indonesia’s commitments to deliver Clean, Green, Renewable’s energy made at COP26 — in further anticipation of the G22 Summit — only (7 months) after which Indonesia will have all the stage lights shone hard upon it and thus aims to progress the develop a renewable energy Industry in the super short term.
