The state asset fund is eyeing a US$30 billion renewable energy project that will export power to Singapore as well as supply the national grid, but licensing and funding issues related to a prior solar farm deal continues to cast a cloud of uncertainty among investors.
The Jakarta Post
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Workers check solar panels on Nov. 7, 2019, at Tirtonadi Terminal in Surakarta, Central Java, in connection with a 500,000-watt Transportation Ministry project to power the bus terminal. PHOTO: THE JAKARTA POST
April 27, 2026
JAKARTA – State asset fund Danantara is gunning for investment in a US$30 billion renewable energy export project to Singapore, according to an executive at the state asset fund who cited investors’ huge appetite for green energy procurement projects.
Chief investment officer Pandu Sjahrir said the proposed project would include solar power infrastructure development and a cross-border power transmission network.
“We will carry out and review energy exports to Singapore,” Pandu said on Thursday, highlighting that the planned solar farms “will probably be the biggest” in Southeast Asia, as quoted by to state news agency Antara.
He said the project also involved developing the national power grid and a transmission network connecting to Singapore at a cost nearing “at least” $30 billion.
Some private companies had secured previous agreements with Singaporean, Pandu said, adding that he could not divulge technical details or how the cooperation would materialize at this time.
He said the project was a continuation of a solar panel development commitment discussed at the Indonesia International Sustainability Forum in October 2025.
According to Pandu, the project will generate electricity for exports to Singapore as well as the national grid.
Export constraints
Most solar farms in Indonesia are connected to the grid managed by state electricity company PLN, which serves as a backup when the renewable energy source cannot be tapped, such as during cloudy weather.
The problem with this setup is that an unrestrained rollout of solar power can strain PLN’s ability to balance supply and demand, especially during a sudden drop in electricity generation. This could lead to a network disruption and in turn, electrical instability and a wide-scale blackout.
To mitigate such a scenario, the government has set quotas to align new on-grid solar capacity with PLN’s handling capacity.
It also enacted Government Regulation No. 40/2025 on the National Energy Policy (KEN), signed by President Prabowo Subianto on Sept. 15, which designates PLN as the sole electricity aggregator for both imports and exports.
The regulation permits cross-border exports of electricity to enhance the “efficiency, reliability and security of energy supply”. It also stipulates that electricity imports must be handled by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or companies specifically appointed to represent the state.
Funding gridlock
In 2023, Jakarta and Singapore signed several memorandums of understanding on building solar farms targeting an operational date in early 2028, but none has yet to break ground.
Analysts said the construction on the solar power installations should have started by now to meet the delivery deadline but faced financing challenges, The Straits Times reported in March.
Unnamed senior executives from Indonesian companies said one important detail had rendered the projects “unbankable” or too risky for a bank loan. Specifically, they were referring to an Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry regulation issued in 2021 requiring clean energy exporters to obtain a permit that must be renewed every five years.
This regulation created uncertainty, as the state could revoke exporters’ permits or reduce quotas if it determined that the power exports were disrupting domestic supply and risked causing blackouts, according to the Times article.
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