Govt to tender 13 geothermal areas<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government plans to tender 13 geothermal working areas to
\ndevelop the underutilized energy resource for electricity and
\nother industries.<\/p>\n
\"The government will the working areas to interested investors
\nthrough a tender. But it may not start until the issuance of
\na government regulation on geothermal energy sometime this year,\"
\nexecutive secretary of the Directorate General of Geology and
\nMineral Resources Sukhyar told reporters in a discussion on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
He, however, did not provide a specify a schedule for the
\ntender.<\/p>\n
Sukhyar said the government was currently conducting a study
\nto measure the proven reserves in the working areas, which were
\npreviously under the control of state oil and gas firm PT
\nPertamina.<\/p>\n
He said the study was expected to provide accurate data on the
\ngeothermal resource to help minimize exploration costs for would-
\nbe investors.<\/p>\n
He added that lower exploration costs would help reduce the
\nprice of electricity from the geothermal plants.<\/p>\n
Pertamina relinquished the geothermal areas to the government
\nin 2002 as it lacked the necessary funds to develop them.<\/p>\n
According to Sukhyar, Pertamina currently manages around 13
\ngeothermal working areas with potential reserves of up to 3,600
\nmegawatts (MW). Pertamina developed the areas in cooperation with
\nother private power firms.<\/p>\n
Geothermal energy -- pressurized steam, sometimes with hot
\nwater -- is an energy source produced when groundwater descending
\nfrom the earth's surface meets the molten magma ascending from
\nthe earth's core in exceptionally hot surroundings. It is
\nconsidered an environmentally clean energy source, with a carbon
\ndioxide emission rate 90 percent lower than that of oil-fired
\npower plants.<\/p>\n
Geothermal energy in the country has been underutilized
\ndespite its abundance. Located in the \"ring of fire\" volcano
\nbelt, Indonesia holds 40 percent of the world's geothermal
\nreserves or 27,140 MW.<\/p>\n
Indonesia currently has a number of geothermal power plants
\nwith a combined capacity of 807 MW (around 3 percent of the total
\ngeothermal potential). The plants are located in Kamojang, Salak,
\nDarajat and Wayang Windu (all in West Java), Lahendong (in North
\nSulawesi), and Sibayak (North Sumatra).<\/p>\n
Last year, the House of Representatives passed a geothermal
\nbill into law in a bid to lure more investors to develop the
\nenergy.<\/p>\n
Sukhyar said the government planned to gradually increase
\nproduction of geothermal energy to 2,000 MW in 2008 and up to
\n6,000 MW in 2020.<\/p>\n
Sukhyar said development of geothermal energy was facing many
\nproblems including overlapping regulations. For example, Law No.
\n41\/1999 on forestry, which bans open pit mining in protected
\nforests, would hamper development of the energy because many
\ngeothermal resources are located in forest areas.<\/p>\n
Sukhyar said development of the energy is also important for
\nindustry and agriculture such as traditional pharmaceutical
\nproducts, dairy products, food processing and the cement
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
I-box<\/p>\n
Geothermal working areas<\/p>\n
Areas Possible Reserves (MW)
\n---------------------------------------------------------
\n1.Sabang (Inboih-Jaboi), Aceh --
\n2.Seulawah Aceh 282
\n3.Rantau Dedap, South Sumatra --
\n4.Sorik Merapi, North Sumatra 420
\n5.Suoh Sekincau, Lampung
\n *G. Sekincau 130
\n *Suoh Antatai 330
\n6.Gunung Rajabasa, Lampung 40
\n7.Kaldera D. Banten
\n *Rawa Dano 115
\n *G. Karang 170
\n8.Cisolok, West Java
\n *Cisukarame 83
\n *Cisolok 50
\n9.Tangkuban Perahu 90
\n10.Ngebel-Wilis, East Java --
\n11.Ijen, East Java 185
\n12.Ungaran, Central Java 52
\n13.Telomoyo, Central Java --<\/p>\n
Source: Directorate General of Geology and Mineral Resources<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-tender-13-geothermal-areas-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }