Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGEO) Prepares Data Centre Pilot Project

PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy Tbk. (PGEO) is preparing a pilot project for data centre operations in Kamojang, West Java. This initiative is part of the company’s off-grid business, which represents a new revenue stream. PGE President Director Ahmad Yani stated that the company is currently finalising the study for the pilot project and hopes it can commence this year. ‘In Kamojang, we are in the process of studying it, and hopefully it can soon begin as a tangible pilot project,’ Yani said during a media briefing in South Jakarta on Tuesday. He explained that PGE’s role is to provide reliable electricity tailored to the needs of data centres, effectively promoting green energy for the sector. ‘Because data centres cannot experience downtime. They need to withstand interruptions within a matter of seconds or minutes without backup. That is what we aim to create with geothermal energy—designing a system and its backup so it can meet tier 1 and tier 2 requirements. For instance, if they need 5 megawatts, we must determine how much capacity to prepare,’ Yani elaborated. According to him, many parties have already approached PGE to collaborate on this data centre business development. Yani mentioned that the company is working with IDPro and Telkom. He also revealed that PGE has previously communicated with Microsoft to explore the data centre business. ‘We have also spoken with Microsoft, discussing what they need and where their focus lies, as data centres do not have highly fluctuating processing loads,’ he said. Following the completion of the pilot project in Kamojang, PGE is also targeting other potential regions for the data centre business. Yani identified Sulawesi and Sumatra as promising areas for development. ‘It could be in Sulawesi; you may have heard that a global data centre hub might be developed there because the submarine cable route already exists. Sumatra is also a possibility,’ he stated.