The government is aiming to develop 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity through a scheme allocating 1 megawatt (MW) to each village. The plan is seen as a stepping stone toward renewable energy. However, behind this ambitious target lies a new question: where will the approximately one hectare of land required for every MW come from?
The answer to this question could mean the loss of agricultural land, Indigenous communities’ living spaces, fishing grounds, and women’s economic spaces that have long depended on natural resources. The issue is not the solar technology itself, but rather how energy policies are still designed using a one-size-fits-all approach, without adequately considering diversity and local contexts.
Indonesia is currently at a critical juncture in developing the 2026–2035 National Energy General Plan (RUEN). RUEN should provide an opportunity to change this approach. So far, energy policies have largely focused on energy-mix targets, technical considerations, and investment.
Yet decisions regarding the retirement of coal-fired power plants, renewable energy development, and nickel mining always generate different impacts for different groups of society. Women in coastal areas face different vulnerabilities from women living around mining sites. Persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, fishers, farmers, coastal communities, and workers in the fossil fuel sector likewise face different opportunities and challenges.
In other words, energy is never neutral.
A 2025 SMERU study titled “Towards Inclusive Energy Transition in Indonesia” found that the transition toward Net Zero Emissions (NZE) could produce unevenly distributed socioeconomic impacts, with female-headed households and households with persons with disabilities bearing heavier burdens. More concerningly, the SMERU study found that households with persons with disabilities had the highest initial poverty rate, at 19.28%. They continued to experience the highest poverty rates compared with other groups under all NZE scenarios.
These findings demonstrate that the challenge of the energy transition lies not only in its implementation, but also in how the policies themselves are designed.
The revision of the 2026–2035 RUEN should therefore provide an opportunity to change this perspective. Energy policies have so far focused primarily on energy-mix targets, technological development, and investment, while the social justice dimension remains an additional consideration rather than a measure of policy success.
In fact, Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 9 of 2000 on Gender Mainstreaming in National Development has required gender mainstreaming throughout the policy planning and evaluation process. Yet more than two decades later, this approach has not been fully reflected in energy-sector policies.
The previous RUEN, established through Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 22 of 2017, did recognize the importance of considering social impacts. However, there were no indicators to ensure that women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable groups were genuinely involved and protected throughout the energy transition process.
The absence of such indicators is not merely an administrative issue. Its consequences can already be seen across various energy-transition agendas.
Research by the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) concluded that, in responding to the coal-fired power plant retirement agenda, the government has yet to fully develop policies and capacities to protect the rights of affected workers.
Meanwhile, records from the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) demonstrate how National Strategic Projects (PSN) in the energy sector can result in the loss of people’s sense of security, livelihoods, and the right to a healthy environment as a consequence of land dispossession.
In other words, the issue is not simply who benefits from the energy transition, but who bears its impacts.
Therefore, the revision of RUEN should not stop at setting energy-mix targets or listing priority projects. RUEN needs to establish Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) as a mandatory indicator throughout the entire energy policy cycle.
This means that every energy policy should be developed based on data disaggregated by gender, disability, age, and other relevant social groups. Every project should also undergo a social impact assessment capable of identifying the most vulnerable groups from the planning stage.
Public participation must also be meaningful, rather than merely fulfilling administrative requirements. Women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and local communities must have equal space to determine the future of their territories.
At the same time, the government must ensure protection for workers in the fossil fuel sector through adequate reskilling, upskilling, and social protection programs.
This approach should also be considered in every new energy project, including plans to develop large-scale solar power facilities in villages.
A just energy transition is not merely about developing new technologies. It is also about ensuring that no group in society is disproportionately harmed by the transition.
Ultimately, the success of the energy transition cannot be measured solely by the number of gigawatts installed or the amount of investment attracted. Its success must be determined by who benefits and who is protected from its impacts.
The 2026–2035 RUEN will shape the direction of Indonesia’s energy development for the next decade. If GEDSI is once again treated merely as an administrative add-on, Indonesia will only be changing its energy sources without addressing the inequalities that have accompanied them.
Indonesia needs not only a low-carbon energy transition, but also a just energy transition—and this can only be achieved if GEDSI mainstreaming becomes a foundation, rather than a footnote, in the next RUEN.
Read the full article on Katadata.