On December 29, the Ministry of Finance gave the go-ahead for coal fired power projects under the Government of Indonesia’s new “crash program” to develop 10,000 MW of additional power generation capacity by 2010. Within months of declaring the need for such energy measures, deals with three Chinese firms had already been signed.
While Indonesia certainly needs to supply energy to to its growing economy, there are very clear and urgent governance challenges framing this capacity addition initiative. With such rapid negotiations to build energy projects, safeguards need to be put in place to prevent corruption while ensuring decision-making takes place in an accountable and participatory matter. Ultimately, the short-term goals of rapid energy generation need to align with the long-term goals of affordability, access, and environmental sustainability.















