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Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, made an announcement on 3 February 2025 during the sharing of the ministry’s 2024 performance achievements that Cirebon-1, a 660 MW coal power plant located in West Java, is set to be retired in 2035, seven years earlier from the originally scheduled retirement year of 2042. The Minister stated that supply will be completely replaced with renewable energy systems — a mix of solar systems (700 MW and 346 MW low-power), wind power (1,000 MW), and waste-to-energy (12 MW).
This new briefing from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) supplements CREA’s June 2024 analysis on national public health gains from the early retirement decision, and includes insights on positive alignment to West Java’s existing regional energy planning for renewables expansion, given that both Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) pilot projects for early retirement – Cirebon-1 and Pelabuhan Ratu – are located in the province.
The early retirement of the 660-MW Cirebon-1 coal power plant will bring significant benefits from the avoided air pollution-related health impacts — with over 6,000 deaths mitigated and USD 4.4 billion (IDR 67 trillion) of economic burden avoided between 2036 and 2042. Meanwhile, the early retirement of Pelabuhan Ratu in 2037 — the second JETP pilot project — will yield similar benefits at the national level, with 5,409 deaths prevented and USD 3.7 billion (IDR 57 trillion) economic losses avoided between 2038 and 2043.
However, true economic gains from the early retirement of Cirebon-1 and Pelabuhan Ratu will be much beyond the USD 1.13 billion financing required for the early retirement and managed phase-outs outlined as one of JETP’s focus areas, but only if a transition is made to renewable energy. To note, both JETP pilots are in West Java, where renewables ambition is mapped in the regional energy plan.
While renewables capacity in West Java currently reaches 3.5 GW, a total of 4.6 GW prospective renewables projects are springing up across the province with solar and hydropower projects in the lead. West Java could well surpass the 6.8 GW target set for 2030 by keeping solar and hydro on track and also dedicating efforts for wind, geothermal, and bioenergy.
