Government To Auction Off Geothermal Concession In Solok

Solok, W Sumatra (Antara Bali) - The Government said it will open tender  for the development of a geothermal power concession  in the district of Solok, West Sumatra, this year.

This year, the energy and mineral resources ministry will auction off the concession to develop the geothermal power reserve in Gunung Talang - Bukit Kili, a senior official of the directorate general of renewable energy Budi Herdiyanto said.

"The government wants  competent, professional and quality investors to develop the reserve," Budi said here on Thursday.

The government plans to build a geothermal power plant with a capacity of 20 megawatts, to supply power for 15,000 people in that area, he added.

The capacity would not be enough to supply power for the whole regency of Solok, but bigger reserves could be found and exploited to generate power  in the regency, he said.

 Solok District Head Devi Kurnia said there are three known geothermal  reserves in the district enough to feed power plants with a total  capacity of 193 MW.

The three reserves are  in Surian that could feed a 75 MW capacity power plant, in  Sumani  with a 52 MW capacity  and Gunung Talang 66 MW,  the district head  said.

Budi said the government is set to  make a number of breakthroughs to accelerate development of geothermal reserves  as a renewable energy source in the country.

"Breakthroughs are needed to meet the target to increase the contribution of renewable energy to 23 percent of the country's total energy production in 2025  with geothermal power to account for 7 percent," he said.

He said Indonesia has potential geothermal reserve of 29 Giga Watts spread in 324 locations , but only 5 percent of the potential has been utilized.

Indonesia, which holds the world's largest geothermal reserves, is set to aggressively develop renewable energy including geothermal energy to reduce dependence on fossil energy. (WDY)