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🗞️ Driving the news: Indonesia’s rapid expansion of captive coal plants to power its nickel industry is putting national climate targets and long-term economic competitiveness at risk
• Operational and planned captive coal capacity has surged to 31 GW, triple 2023 levels
• The capacity now exceeds Australia’s entire coal fleet and is close to Germany’s total coal capacity
• The growth is driven by coal-powered nickel processing hubs in Central Sulawesi and North Maluku

🔭 The context: Captive coal plants operate outside Indonesia’s national grid and regulatory spotlight
• Of the 31 GW, 19.3 GW is operational, 3.6 GW under construction, and 8.2 GW planned
• Official transition plans significantly underreport captive coal capacity, raising transparency concerns
• Regulatory exemptions for “national strategic projects” weaken oversight and emissions accountability

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Coal-powered nickel threatens climate goals and environmental integrity
• Captive coal expansion risks locking Indonesia into a high-emissions pathway incompatible with its 2030 and 2040 climate targets
• Coal-based nickel production undermines the climate benefits of electric vehicles and weakens access to green-certified global supply chains

⏭️ What’s next: Pressure is growing to integrate captive coal into national phase-out plans
• Researchers are urging Indonesia to include captive coal in its 2040 retirement targets
• Stronger data transparency and monitoring frameworks are needed to avoid stranded assets
• Failure to act could expose exports to carbon border taxes, including from the EU

💬 One quote: “It is impossible to plan the replacement of coal plants with renewables without understanding the full landscape of captive coal,” — Lucy Hummer, Global Energy Monitor

📈 One stat: Captive coal accounted for ~80% of all new coal capacity added in Indonesia between 2024 and 2025

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