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SoCool

Supporting solar cold chains in Indonesia to enable them to contribute to climate-friendly change in economic sectors with cooling requirements

Background

Demand for energy is growing rapidly in Indonesia. However, renewable energies continue to make only a small contribution to the country’s electricity supply. As a result, the provision of energy is having an increasing impact on the country’s CO2 emissions. Energy-related emissions are expected to become the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and will account for up to 70 percent of total emissions by 2030.

One of the sectors with the fastest-growing requirement for electricity is commercial and industrial cooling. However, the refrigeration sector also offers great potential for increasing energy efficiency, integrating renewable energies through photovoltaic systems, and thus reducing and avoiding climate-damaging emissions in the long term. At the same time, the use of decentralised, renewable energies creates cost benefits by avoiding transport and fuel costs for electricity generation.

The GIZ-implemented Energy Programme Indonesia/ASEAN supports the Indonesian Government in a partner-based approach in achieving its targets for a sustainable energy transition. These include realising Indonesia’s target of 23% renewable energy in the power mix by 2025 and 34% by 2030, achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2060 and mainstreaming low-carbon technologies as part of an overall economic transformation.

As one of the measures to support the Government of Indonesia (GoI) under the Energy Programme, the “Solar Cold Chains for a Green Economy in Indonesia” (SOCOOL) Project shall create suitable technological and market framework conditions to enable a long-term reduction of CO2 emissions in Indonesia’s cooling sector. An industry-based, national approach in partnership with inter-ministerial, shall ensure contributions towards Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contributions and renewable energy targets while achieving socio-economic improvements in related sectors of the economy with high demands for cold chain expansion and preservation of goods.

Approach

The project works closely with Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) and the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs (Kemenkomarves) to standardise the use of solar technologies in cold chains and supply chains.

The project also promotes the formation of technology partnerships between applied research and industry. They develop needs-based, economically, and technically viable solutions for solar cold chains. These technologies, for example solar cold stores or solar ice production plants, are to be disseminated in important economic sectors such as fisheries and will help to reduce CO2 emissions in national and international supply chains.

Desired impacts

Using renewable solar energy for expanding cold chain access can achieve triple wins for Indonesia: Firstly, it can cost-effectively improve access to energy in Indonesia’s remote coastal areas – reducing post-harvest losses through new cooling solutions. Secondly, it can replace costly fossil-fuel power generation in fishery regions, generating for example USD 2.8 million in annual savings in Maluku’s food and beverage sector alone. Thirdly, standardising solar energy as part of the annual rollout of new cold storages (+30% year-on-year growth 2021/2022) can add 140 MWp per year in new solar power capacity and contribute to Indonesia’s renewable energy targets with up to 1 GWp by 2030. Overall, green industrial transformation, leading to Indonesia’s Vision 2045 requires these cross-sectoral efforts – making Indonesia’s export supply chains be more competitive and of higher value. The SOCOOL Project is designed to support the interface between Indonesia’s emergent blue and green economies.

Examples: https://akzente.giz.de/en/report/frozen-sunlight

Project Documents