At the recently concluded Indonesian International Geothermal Convention & Exhibition, Abadi Purnomo, Chairman of the Indonesian Geothermal Association (INAGA) said “innovative breakthroughs are needed to speed up developments in the geothermal industry to achieve the country’s target of geothermal power plants producing 7,000 megawatts (MW) by 2025.”
To reach targets an average of 550 MW of development annually would be required and this at an investment volume of around $4-5 million per MW.
To attract investment in the geothermal sector, so Abadi, innovations were needed, including attractive electricity rates for geothermal developers, a guarantee that state power company PLN would act as an off taker and purchase the electricity and legal certainty.
With exploration being the most crucial element in development, he sees the government regulation No. 59/ 2007 on in-direct use exploitation as an important element in encouraging investments into exploration drilling.
“INAGA has striven and will continue to work with the government to develop geothermal energy in Indonesia for the benefit of all the country’s people,” he said in an interview with The Jakarta Post.
Source: The Jakarta Post
