Indonesia opens second round pre-qualification list for renewables projects

Companies can apply to PLN's head office to pre-qualify as project sponsors until 15 March. Successful companies will be put on PLN's 'list of selected providers' for renewable energy projects, Daftar Penyedia Terseleksi (DPT).

The process relates to projects with a capacity of over 10 megawatts (MW). Regional PLN offices will run pre-qualification processes for projects below 10MW.

Since the end of 2017 only companies listed in PLN's DPT have been able to participate in the procurement process for renewable energy projects, according to PLN policy.

A first round pre-qualification process for DPT began in October 2017 and successful companies were told that they were on the list in November 2018, though the full list of successful applicants was not published. The DPT listing will be valid for three years.

Noverina Gurning, an energy expert at Bahar, the Indonesian partner firm of Pinsent Masons, welcomed the announcement of the first-round DPT results and the commencement of the second round DPT process, but said that issues around the implementation of the DPT process, especially on the transparency and certainty of the process, remain important considerations for interested parties.

"The DPT mechanism and procedure are not regulated by laws, but instead only by PLN internal policy, which is not shared to the public," she said. "This creates uncertainty for the developers, as they can only rely on information provided by PLN in Q&A sessions, verbal confirmation, and emails. Further, there is also no certainty on when the results will be announced and when PLN will commence the procurement process for the next renewable energy projects."

Despite this, Gurning said that a number of developers are pleased with the results of the first round DPT process and that she regards the second round DPT invitation as an encouraging sign of progress following a lengthy period of inactivity in 2018.

The second round DPT process relates to solar PV, hybrid energy, wind energy, biomass, biogas, biofuel, tidal wave and new energy. PLN has a separate DPT for hydro power plant projects. Applications are open to any company in Indonesia or another country which has diplomatic relations with Indonesia.