KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. Indonesia, a major thermal coal exporter, aims to produce 710 million metric tons of coal in 2024, its mining minister said on Monday, after posting record output last year amid a recovery in demand.

Indonesia's coal output in 2023 was 775 million tons, up from 687 millions a year earlier and above the 695-million-ton target, Mining Minister Arifin Tasrif told reporters.

Around 518 million tons of Indonesian coal were exported last year, he added, an 11% increase from 2022. Arifin did not provide an outlook for exports in 2024.

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"Our coal exports increased (last year) due to rising energy demand while supply of alternative energy sources was disrupted," Arifin told reporters, referring to gas supply disruptions due to the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, domestic demand was higher than expected as power demand recovered from the pandemic impact and a number of coal-fired power plants came online, Arifin said.

Indonesia has pledged to shift away from coal, which currently makes up around half of the country's source of energy, towards renewable resources.

The government plans to raise to 23% the share of energy generated from renewable sources by 2025, though as of last year only 13% of the Southeast Asian country's energy mix was represented by renewables, ministry data showed.

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"We are still committed and will optimise the utilisation of renewable resources we have," he said, but added: "We need to be realistic."

In the transport fuel sector, Indonesia estimated this year that its domestic consumption of biodiesel made from palm oil would reach around 12.5 million kilolitres, up slightly from 2023's 12.2 million KL.

The government has allocated 13.4 million KL for biodiesel consumption in 2024, and targeted 13.9 million KL consumption next year.

Editor: Yudho Winarto