Jakarta,
July 6, 2015 (Antara) - Indonesia as a tropical country is blessed with
various sources of alternate energy such as solar, wind, geothermal,
hydro, and biomass, which have so far not been utilized
optimally.
With a plan to build new power plants with a total capacity of 35,000 megawatts (MW) until 2019, the government is currently amending its energy development policy from relying on coal to clean and renewable sources of energy.
"Our country is categorically located in the ring of fire, where there is abundant geothermal energy. It is a blessing in disguise. We must manage it," the president wrote on his Twitter account @Jokowi on July 5, 2015.
With a plan to build new power plants with a total capacity of 35,000 megawatts (MW) until 2019, the government is currently amending its energy development policy from relying on coal to clean and renewable sources of energy.
"Our country is categorically located in the ring of fire, where there is abundant geothermal energy. It is a blessing in disguise. We must manage it," the president wrote on his Twitter account @Jokowi on July 5, 2015.
President
Joko Widodo (Jokowi) affirmed that his government will prioritize the
development of environmentally friendly power plants in its program to
increase the country's power generation capacity in the next five
years.
The government is considering giving incentives for investment in environmentally friendly power generation projects.
"It is clean, but unfortunately, we have never focused on this. There are also wind energy, solar energy, and biomass," the president pointed out.
As a start, Jokowi inaugurated the Kamojang geothermal power plant
(PLTP) in Garut, West Java, on July 5, 2015. The PLTP was built with an
investment of US$104.3 million and has a capacity of 35 MW.
Officially, he also officiated the groundbreaking for the construction
of the 3rd and 4th units of PLTP Ulubelu in Tanggamus district, Lampung
Province; the 5th unit of PLTP Lahendong in Minahasa District, North
Sulawesi; the 1st unit of PLTP Karaha in West Java; the 1st and 2nd
units of PLTP Lumut Balai in South Sumatra; the first unit of PLTP
Hululais in Bengkulu; and the first unit of PLTP Kerinci in Jambi.
The construction of PLTP Ulubelu, with a capacity of 2x55 MW, will cost around US$524.26 million.
The cost for the construction of PLTP Lahendong, with a capacity of
2x20 MW, is around US$262.07 million; PLTP Karaha, with a capacity of 30
MW, to cost US$187 million; PLTP Lumut Balai, with a capacity of 110
MW, to cost US$683.51 million; PLTP Hulu Lais, with a capacity of 55 MW,
to cost US$248 million; and PLTP Kerinci, with a capacity of 55 MW, to
cost US$116.17 million.
"All the geothermal projects have a total capacity of 505 MW for which
the value of investment reached US$2.5 billion," President Director of
state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina Dwi Soetjipto noted.
Those projects are expected to gradually become commercially operational between 2015 and 2019.
By the year 2019, after the development of the projects is completed, Pertamina will have a power generation capacity of 907 MW.
By the year 2019, after the development of the projects is completed, Pertamina will have a power generation capacity of 907 MW.
Most of the development is managed by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy
(PGE), PT Pertamina's subsidiary, and carried out by PT Rekayasa
Industri.
Indonesia has the largest geothermal reserves in the world but only a small part of them have been developed.
Indonesia has the largest geothermal reserves in the world but only a small part of them have been developed.
According to PT Pertamina, the country has the potential to generate up
to 28 thousand MW of electricity using geothermal energy.
Pertamina has set aside Rp33 trillion, or US$2.5 billion, as investment
for the development of geothermal power plants until 2019.
Soetjipto remarked that the investment fund will be used to enhance the
capacity of the geothermal power plants from 505 MW to 907 MW in 2019.
"We
have included the development of geothermal energy as one of our
strategic priorities, and we have created the blueprint for the
development until 2019," Soetjipto said during the inauguration of the
Kamojang Geothermal Plant in Garut.
The
907-MW capacity geothermal power plant is expected to reduce the use of
fuel oil up to 43 thousand barrels oil equivalent per day.
The construction projects are expected to provide job opportunities to around seven thousand people.
Pertamina's Corporate Communication Vice President Wianda Pusponegoro
recently affirmed that the Kamojang PLTP is a milestone project for PT
Pertamina, which has entered the geothermal business by implementing
projects from the upstream business of producing thermal gas and turning
it into electricity to be supplied to state-owned electricity company
PT PLN.
"This is an achievement, and it will increase the nation's electricity supply," she remarked.
She
noted that a power plant that uses a new energy source, such as
Kamojang PLTP, which is environmentally friendly, would become a
reliable source of energy in the future.
In the meantime, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said stated that the progress in the construction of the power plants, with a capacity to produce 35 gigawatts of electricity, is on schedule.
In the meantime, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said stated that the progress in the construction of the power plants, with a capacity to produce 35 gigawatts of electricity, is on schedule.
"Thank
God, the project is progressing according to plan, in terms of planning
and funding. Some of the working parts have reached the construction
phase, as well," the minister revealed here on Monday.
The
government believes that the supply of such form of energy will be able
to push the economic growth rate to 6.7 percent.
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(f001/INE)06-07-2015 14:52:12
(f001/INE)06-07-2015 14:52:12
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