Battle over the sun: Resistance, tension, and divergence in enabling rooftop solar adoption in Indonesia

Abstract

This article examines sustainability transitions in the Global South, focusing on the adoption of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems in Indonesia as a case study. Based on 55 in-depth interviews and a secondary data review, we develop an alternative analytical framework that draws insights from geographical political economy and political ecology. This alternative lens allows us to better inform the socio-technical transition literature by uncovering both the spatial implications of renewable energy transitions and the power differentials underpinning them. We find that the emergence of rooftop PV technology in Indonesia has provoked resistance, as it challenges the incumbent power company’s monopoly over urban space, the Java-Bali grid system’s dependency on coal-based electricity, and state-led practices that prioritise the implementation of small-scale solar in rural and remote areas. We argue that paying attention to the asymmetric power relations among institutions and actors across multiple scales offers a more-fine grained approach to analysing the dynamics of sustainability transitions. Our findings also call for greater attention to diverse and divergent perspectives among niche actors, emphasising the need to genuinely embrace local voices and knowledge that might otherwise be marginalised by the dominant globally and nationally driven narratives of renewable transition.