Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has projected that Indonesia will become the worlds largest geothermal power producer by 2021.
This projection is based on the growth of geothermal power plant installations that continue to increase rapidly from year to year.
"Based on our analysis, the capacity of geothermal power plants in Indonesia will beat the worlds largest producers, such as the US and the Philippines, by 2021," the ministry spokesman, Dadan Kusdiana, noted in a statement received by ANTARA here, Tuesday.
He explained that by 2018, Indonesia will surpass the Philippines to become the worlds second-largest geothermal energy user in the world, with consumption of 2,023.5 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
The increase in capacity will come from the Sarulla power plant, 2 x 110 MW; Karaha power plant, 30 MW; Sorik Marapi power plant, 2 x 20 MW; and Lumut Balai power plant, 55 MW.
Furthermore, based on the roadmap, Indonesia will become the worlds largest geothermal energy producing country, defeating the US by 2021, with a geothermal electricity capacity reaching 3,559.5 MW.
The projection takes into account the geothermal development in the Philippines that has reached its existing reserves, while geothermal development in the US will not increase significantly due to the absence of incentives.
Kusdiana said the current geothermal utilization in Indonesia is only 1,698.5 MW, or some 10 percent of the reserves. In fact, there are 331 potential geothermal locations across the country and are strategic for investment.
"We have 17,506 MW of geothermal reserves and 11,073 MW of resources. These figures have not been optimized. Hence, it is an opportunity for investors to develop geothermal power plants," Kusdiana noted.
Kusdiana further explained that the government continues to facilitate geothermal investors through fiscal and non-fiscal incentives. In addition, the government has issued special regulations on geothermal in the form of Law No. 21 of 2014 on Geothermal and Government Regulation No. 7 of 2017 on Geothermal for Indirect Use, as well as other technical regulations.(*)
