Indonesia will open three geothermal power plants with a total capacity of 62 megawatts this year, as the country is seeking to better tap its renewable energy sources to promote a green economy.
According to Tisnaldi, geothermal director at the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the three plants are expected to help handle the power shortage in the country.
They are part of a project to add 10,000 megawatts of electricity to the capacity of the State Electricity Company of Indonesia, he said.
The official added that about 40 percent of that target is expected to be sourced from geothermal energy.
The project aims to give access to electricity to all Indonesian households by 2020, compared to the estimated 80 percent rate last year.
Electricity from the plants, which are located in West Java and East Nusa Tenggara provinces, is to be added to the power grid for Java and Bali - islands that take up the majority of Indonesia’s electricity demand.
Indonesia, which has the largest geothermal resources in the world, has been tapping only 1.4 percent of its potential due to high costs of development and restrictive regulations that bar geothermal exploration in protected forests.
Rising energy prices in the past decade have made geothermal more competitive in pricing to conventional energy sources such as oil and coal.
Therefore, the country is scheduled to put more geothermal power plants into operation in the next few years, including one in South Sumatra, to go on line in 2018.-VNA
According to Tisnaldi, geothermal director at the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the three plants are expected to help handle the power shortage in the country.
They are part of a project to add 10,000 megawatts of electricity to the capacity of the State Electricity Company of Indonesia, he said.
The official added that about 40 percent of that target is expected to be sourced from geothermal energy.
The project aims to give access to electricity to all Indonesian households by 2020, compared to the estimated 80 percent rate last year.
Electricity from the plants, which are located in West Java and East Nusa Tenggara provinces, is to be added to the power grid for Java and Bali - islands that take up the majority of Indonesia’s electricity demand.
Indonesia, which has the largest geothermal resources in the world, has been tapping only 1.4 percent of its potential due to high costs of development and restrictive regulations that bar geothermal exploration in protected forests.
Rising energy prices in the past decade have made geothermal more competitive in pricing to conventional energy sources such as oil and coal.
Therefore, the country is scheduled to put more geothermal power plants into operation in the next few years, including one in South Sumatra, to go on line in 2018.-VNA
