The number of new and renewable energy plants had continued to increase over the last five years, with the current installed capacity reaching 12 gigawatts (GW), according to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif remarked that geothermal power plants contributed about 2.2 GW and were still being developed through new business schemes to push for the energy transition program.
“Geothermal power generation is estimated to reach 22 GW, which is driven by the development of new business schemes. Competitive and affordable technological innovations include deep drilling geothermal development, enhancing geothermal systems, and offshore geothermal development,” Minister Tasrif noted during a scientific meeting forum, being the 8th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention & Exhibition (IIGCE) 2022 here on Wednesday.
The government has set a medium-term roadmap regarding the addition of new and renewable energy through the PLN 2021-2030 Electric Power Supply Business Plan.
In the roadmap, the addition of new and renewable energy was targeted to reach 20.9 GW, equivalent to 51.6 percent of the total power plants built by PLN, the state’s electricity company, he added.
The minister said that the installed capacity of geothermal power plants had been targeted to reach 3.3 GW by 2030. The government had readied several strategies to boost the production of geothermal electricity, including through the government drilling program that provided geothermal funds, synergy among state-owned enterprises, and optimizing ground field resources.
He further highlighted that efforts to improve the development of clean energy and gearing it towards energy transition would require diverse technologies and financial support from various entities, including governments, international organizations, financial institutions, businesses, and philanthropists.
Access to the use and utilization of technology must also be made more inclusive. Hence, access and affordable financing must be extensively and thoroughly provided.
“Currently, Indonesia has two geothermal financing schemes, the geothermal energy upstream development project and the geothermal resource risk mitigation, which is a collaboration among the Finance Ministry, PT SMI, and the World Bank,” the minister stated.
Source: Antara News