Investigating technology development in the energy sector and its implications for Indonesia

Innovations for a low-carbon economy and carbon neutrality are the focal points of technology development in the energy sector. This paper aims to investigate the progress of technology and advancements in the energy sector and the implications for Indonesia via two routes, viz., renewable energy and energy efficiency. The methodology employed in this research is divided into two parts. Firstly, an extensive literature review was conducted to identify prevalent research trends within the energy sector. Second, a case study method was performed to gain a comprehensive understanding of energy transformation within the electricity and steel sectors. The study presents two key findings. First, the energy sector has experienced significant technological disruption, providing the opportunity for Indonesia to transition towards a low-carbon development. This includes smart grids, energy-intensive industries, electric vehicles, and storage (pumped storage and battery). Second, lessons from the steel industry show that the technology selection is sensitive to parent company, and this is not easily captured in literature studies. Indonesian has gained many benefits from the global technological disruption, but this is not sufficient without developing changes in support system and consumer behavior.