Indonesia waste-to-energy (PSEL) tariff and Danantara
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
- Communities and civil society WALHI: Waste-to-energy projects are a policy failure and the arrangement creates an incentive to keep waste generation high. Indonesia Business Post
- Government and regulators Government of Indonesia: Set a 30-year tariff of 20 US cents per kWh under Perpres 109 and removed the tipping fee. Kontan
In 2025 Indonesia replaced the fee municipalities paid waste-to-energy plants with a 30-year electricity tariff of 20 US cents per kWh. In 2026 the Danantara investment fund selected operators, and the environmental group WALHI objected.
Tipping fee removed in 2025; the earlier tariff is listed at about 13 US cents.
Status As of July 2026: eight PSEL tender winners announced by Danantara; WALHI had objected to the tariff arrangement; no court case is on record.
- Winning operators including PT Chandra Waste Energy, Pertamina Power Indonesia, Bakrie Power, China Everbright, Veolia and Suez — Selected in the PSEL tender announced on 14 July 2026 Kabar Bursa
- PLN and the state budget — Carry the cost of the 20-US-cent tariff, according to Kontan Kontan
What happened
Indonesia's waste-to-energy programme (PSEL) is built around plants that burn municipal waste to generate electricity. In 2024 data from GoodStats recorded that 39.4% of Indonesia's waste was food and that 54.44% of landfills used open dumping.
In 2025 the government removed the tipping fee, which municipalities paid to plants, and set a tariff of 20 US cents per kWh for 30 years under Presidential Regulation 109 (Perpres 109). Kontan reported that the burden shifted to the state electricity company PLN and the state budget. The earlier tariff is listed at about 13 US cents. The sources reviewed state that projects had stalled because municipalities had not allocated budgets for the fee.
In January 2026, the investment fund Danantara selected Chinese operators, and the environmental group WALHI said the arrangement created an incentive to keep waste generation high (Indonesia Business Post).
On 14 July 2026 Danantara announced eight winners of the PSEL tender. They include PT Chandra Waste Energy, a subsidiary of the petrochemical company Chandra Asri (Serang, 1,161 tonnes a day), Pertamina Power Indonesia (Yogyakarta, with China's Tianjin TEDA), Bakrie Power (Surabaya), China Everbright, Veolia and Suez (Kabar Bursa).
The Paper reported in July 2025 that Chinese incineration plants ran at about 60% of capacity, and the China Environmental Protection Federation counted 79 Chinese incineration projects abroad as of May 2025.
- 2024GoodStats: 39.4% of waste is food; 54.44% of landfills use open dumping
- 2025Tipping fee removed; tariff of 20 US cents per kWh for 30 years (Perpres 109)
- 2026January: Danantara selects Chinese operators; WALHI objects. 14 July: eight tender winners announced
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Waste-to-energy projects are a policy failure and the arrangement creates an incentive to keep waste generation high.
Indonesia Business PostSet a 30-year tariff of 20 US cents per kWh under Perpres 109 and removed the tipping fee.
KontanHow it looked
Shown
- Electricity from waste, with a 30-year tariff of 20 US cents per kWhGovernment of Indonesia · Kontan
Recorded
- 39.4% of Indonesia's waste is food; 54.44% of landfills use open dumping (2024).
- The tipping fee was removed in 2025; tariff of 20 US cents per kWh for 30 years; burden shifted to PLN and the state budget.
- Danantara announced eight PSEL tender winners on 14 July 2026.
- Chinese incineration plants ran at about 60% of capacity (The Paper, July 2025).
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- walhi (January 2026): Said the arrangement creates an incentive to keep waste generation high. · Indonesia Business Post
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
- Disputed Does the tariff create an incentive to keep waste generation high?
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Figures
- Insufficient Programme investment: Reported investment across 33 regions; summary only, not verified.
Record
- None on record The size of the state's 20-year to 30-year payment obligation under the programme is not established in the sources reviewed.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not state how the January 2026 selection of Chinese operators relates to the eight winners announced on 14 July 2026, which include Indonesian companies.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the programme foresees about 91 trillion rupiah of investment across 33 regions (BCA Sekuritas, summary only).
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that Zhejiang Weiming and Wangneng, Chinese operators, won Indonesian tenders.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable: the programme was still being implemented in July 2026.
Who paid?
PLN and the state budget, according to Kontan's report on the tariff.
Sources
Press and investigations
- 39% Sampah Indonesia adalah Sisa MakananGoodStats · 2024
- WALHI rejects government push for waste-to-energy projects, calls it a policy failureIndonesia Business Post · 2026-01
- Danantara umumkan 8 pemenang tender PSEL, anak usaha Chandra Asri (TPIA) masuk daftarKabar Bursa · 2026-07-14
Connected cases
- Eight winners named in Indonesia's waste-to-energy tenders, including Chandra Asri unit Indonesia · 2026 Related matter
- Golfrid Siregar death and Batang Toru hydro Indonesia · 2017
- WALHI (Indonesian Forum for the Environment) (NGO) — here: Environmental NGO; opposes the programme; there: Environmental organisation; Siregar's employer
- Sulawesi 'green nickel' runs on coal power; respiratory infections rose Indonesia · date not stated
- WALHI (Indonesian Forum for the Environment) (NGO) — here: Environmental NGO; opposes the programme; there: Source of the 2025 figures