ABSTRACT
Indonesia went through an even more radical process of decentralization than the Philippines, making it a highly relevant case for analyzing renewable energy development from a multi-level governance perspective with a special focus on the distribution of power among different jurisdictional levels. What are the effects of a multi-level governance system on decision-making in the electricity system? How do various jurisdictional levels coordinate with each other? How are resources distributed between the central government and subnational authorities? How do complex governance arrangements shape support for renewables? The Indonesian case shows how fragmentation of power across jurisdictional levels prevents the electricity system from shifting towards renewables, and how a highly decentralized distribution of power in the electricity system leads to constraints on renewable energy support. Tackling the status quo of the electricity system, or achieving structural changes and a systemic shift towards renewables, depends on power, defined as the access to hard and soft power resources and the ability to mobilize them. Power relations and the distribution of resources and capacities across jurisdictional levels are fundamental determinants for energy transitions. From a multilevel governance perspective, policy-making related to renewables depends on two central issues: patterns of coordination and consultation between jurisdictional levels, as well as the distribution of resources and capacities across these levels. Understanding the complex governance system for renewables is a prerequisite for discussing how development projects cope with such a system.
