Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesiastrives to raise combined capacity of geothermal projects to 1 gigawatt (GW) in2030, according to the country’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR).
Based on the official data, the geothermalpotential in Indonesia may reach 28.5GW. However, the total capacity ofgeothermal power plants across the country only stood at 2.1GW.
Earlier, Minister of Energy and MineralResources Arifin Tasrif stated that the ministry continues to attract investorsto invest in the new renewable energy sector through the cost recovery contractscheme in the geothermal sector.
He noted that the geothermal sector’sdevelopment poses a higher risk than other sectors, so incentives are needed toencourage investment in the field.
Executive Director of the Institute forEssential Services Reform Fabby Tumiwa noted there were a number of obstaclesin developing geothermal energy in the country, such as high investment costsdue to high exploration and engineering and procurement costs.
It also takes a long development time of upto 11 years to 15 years, Tumiwa said, adding that geothermal price policy haschanged six times since 2008.
He said to encourage geothermal utilisationand reduce project development time, the Indonesian government needs tocomplete a number of things, like a concise and one-door licensing process anda power purchase agreement process.
Geothermal energy has a strategic meaningfor Indonesia’s national energy security, which could help to cut downpetroleum imports by 100,000 barrels per day by 2025, said the EMR.
It is estimated that the country needs overthan 15 billion USD in investment to meet its geothermal power capacity targets./.
VNA