Indonesia Need more Geothermal

Kamojang Geothermal

Indonesia Need more Geothermal

In order to meet electricity demand, the government expects to add 5,000 megawatts of new power sources each year and 400 megawatts of which comes from geothermal.

A Geothermal Power Plant (Geothermal) in Kenya (Photo: dock) .To develop geothermal, Indonesia still have much to learn in three countries, namely New Zealand, Iceland and the United States.

JAKARTA According to Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Susilo Siswo Utomo, in Jakarta, Tuesday (26/11), efforts to add new power source has been unavoidable in order to avoid a power crisis.

"That the Indonesian government's challenge is how we can build a power plant at least 5,000 megawatts per year, then if for geothermal that most of our approximately 400 megawatts per year, it continues to be implemented, it must be held that Indonesia will not be a crisis," said Deputy Minister of Energy, Siswo Susilo Utomo.

Observers electricity from the Institute for Essential Services Reform, Fabby Tumiwa to VOA said to meet the needs of geothermal ground water takes time and a great investment.

"For electricity, it was' the projection of our needs up to 2020 takes 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts of new installed capacity every year to meet the growth rate of the electrical current. So it needed a new generation, "said Fabby Tumiwa.

"Plan until 2020 the earth's heat is expected to awaken an additional 4,000 megawatts, 10 years we are 400 megawatts per year, but if we see a track from 2010 until today seems to be the realization of an additional 4,000 megawatts by 2020 it was difficult to be fulfilled, less realistic targets that may be, the development of geothermal slow, "he continued.

Fabby Tumiwa added that the government should simplify the rules so that the prospective investors interested in investing geothermal sector, especially licensing issues. He considered for developing geothermal in Indonesia requires foreigners because Indonesia still have much to learn in three countries, namely New Zealand, Iceland and the United States.

"The problem of the auction, it is always a licensing issue, auction conducted by the government usually does not produce a good candidate investors, who get WKP, geothermal working area was not able to realize the investment due to licensing issues, it may permit but so would the execution is still there constraint problem permits the use of forests, so it is not regulatory, licensing lease forest areas, "said Fabby.

"There are some who reasoned regulatory issues but if I see geothermal regulations already better yes, but it is the quality of the investors also do not want to take the risk, limited financial, capital investmentnya 2,500 to 4,000 dollars per kilowatt depending on location, depending on the size of steam quality steamnya , we also learned a lot of geothermal from New Zealand, from Iceland too much but for a technology that Americans have developed, "said an observer electricity from the Institute for Essential Services Reform this.

Until now, the national electricity production capability of 40 thousand megawatts while the national electricity demand by 32 thousand megawatts. Although still a surplus of 8,000 megawatts, the government seeks to add 5,000 megawatts each year to spare.

This year the government allocates electricity subsidy of Rp 100 trillion, but the electricity subsidy next year will drop to Rp 72 trillion. (VOA)