Bali breaks ground on its first waste-to-energy plant

A new plant for an old problem

Bali held a groundbreaking ceremony on 8 July 2026 for the Denpasar Raya waste-to-energy facility, the island's first plant of this kind. The project is designated a National Strategic Project and is being built by China's Zhejiang Weiming Environment Protection, with state utility PLN signing a power purchase agreement at the ceremony to take the electricity generated. Once operational, expected in the first half of 2028, the plant is designed to process more than 500,000 tonnes of municipal waste each year, enough to supply electricity to around 100,000 households.

The scale of what it addresses

Bali's tourism economy generates waste volumes that its landfills struggle to absorb, a tension that has drawn growing international attention as visitor numbers rise. Officials project the plant will cut landfill waste by up to 80 percent and reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 640,000 tonnes, while creating roughly 1,200 jobs during construction and operation. Bali Governor Wayan Koster framed the project as a way to protect the island's environmental reputation, a factor closely tied to its tourism appeal. Environment Minister Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat called it a model other regions could adapt, provided the technology is matched to local waste composition.

Sirkularium's view

For government and public institutions across Indonesia and the wider region, the Denpasar Raya project is worth watching less for its size than for its structure: a national strategic designation, foreign investment, and a signed offtake agreement with the state grid operator, combined in a single deal. That combination addresses financing risk, a persistent barrier for waste-to-energy projects elsewhere in the archipelago. Institutions considering similar facilities should track whether construction holds to the two-year timeline and whether the promised landfill diversion and emissions figures materialize once the plant is operational, rather than treating the groundbreaking alone as the achievement.