The capital city of Jakarta will soon have the first net-zero energy high-rise building in the world, as well as the country’s tallest structure. The 99-story skyscraper, slated for a 2019 opening, will house the headquarters of Indonesia’s national energy company, Pertamina. Other features of the building, which is to be named the Pertamina Energy Tower, will be a sports center, an auditorium, and a mosque.

Several innovative design features working together make the net-zero achievement possible. The unique, funnel-shaped top is designed to draw in wind, which a series of turbines will convert into a full 25% of the building’s needs within a year of its completion. Some other buildings in the complex will have solar panels, and the campus will have a solar panel-topped walkway throughout, which will also provide cover from the tropical city’s frequent rains. The rest of the required energy will be supplied through geothermal generation.

Despite Jakarta’s nearness to the equator, the Pertamina Energy Tower will be cooled without air conditioning, thanks to radiant cooling systems and partially movable curtains that will shade the strong sun yet let allow for day-lighting. The bullet-like, curved shape of the building has been precision-engineered to greatly lessen solar heat gain.

The skyscraper has been designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, a world-renowned architectural firm founded in 1936.

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The world’s first net-zero energy skyscraper rises in Indonesia

The world’s first net-zero energy skyscraper soon will grace the center of Jakarta, Indonesia — the Pertamina Energy Tower.

When it’s finished in 2019, it will be 99 stories high and serve as the headquarters of Pertamina, the national energy company. In addition to the 20,000 people who will work there, it will be the centerpiece of a campus that has a mosque, a sports center and a 2,000-seat auditorium for the performing arts.

Shaped like a funnel, the top of the tower opens at the top, capturing wind and sucking it inside to run a series of vertical wind turbines that provide 25 percent of the building’s electricity.

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