Assessment of Potential Floating Photovoltaic Plant Development on Lakes and Reservoirs Around Equator: Evidence from Indonesia

Indonesia, targeting Net Zero Emissions by 2060, seeks scalable renewable energy solutions. Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems offer a viable alternative to land-based solar, particularly given Indonesia's abundant equatorial water bodies. This study evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of FPV deployment at Lake Toba, Lake Poso, and Jatiluhur Dam using PVsyst simulations. Results show high system performance with specific yields exceeding 1450 kWh/kWp/year and average performance ratios 85.73%. Lake Toba can host 47.9 GWp generating 69.4 TWh/year at an LCOE of IDR 498/kWh, avoiding 1.3 billion tons of emission potential CO₂. Lake Poso supports 155.7 GWp with 241.7 TWh/year at IDR 458/kWh, reducing 4.6 gigatons of CO₂. Jatiluhur offers 3.32 GWp, 5.07 TWh/year at IDR 185/kWh, saving 96.8 million tons of CO₂. These findings confirm FPV as a technically sound and economically competitive pathway for Indonesia's clean energy transition. Further research should address battery storage and grid integration.