Geothermal projects attract eight investors
Friday, July 27 2007 - 01:39 AM WIB
As many as eight companies have expressed the eagerness to conduct exploration activities on four geothermal concessions even though the tender for the concessions have yet to be opened, Bisnis Indonesia reported Friday.
The four geothermal concessions are Rantau Dadap with a capacity of 225 Megawatt electricity/MWe, in South Sumatra, Gorontalo in Sulawesi with a capacity of 15 MWe, Guci with a capacity of 100 MWe, Pemalang, East Java, and Gunung Karang Cidano and Pulosari with a capacity of 170 MWe in Banten.
Director for geothermal business development and ground water division of the directorate general of the mineral, coal and geothermal of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Sugiharto Harsoprayitno said in Jakarta Thursday that the eight companies were in the process of completing the requirements for obtaining permits.
The eight companies are PT Bayan Energy, Star Energy, PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy, PD Sarana Energy PT Bukaka Teknik, PT Pentadio, PT Spring Energy and Asia Pasific Dea Lab.
“These companies want to have an initial survey. We, along with a team, will evaluate and see the requirements, including the administration-related condition. But the most important thing is that the company should have technical and financial expertise. It is important to have financial expertise,” he said.
According to Sugiharto, companies that have submitted license application document will get first right refusal in the geothermal concession is open for tender. “The right enables a company that conducts an initial exploration activity to have the priority of getting first offer if the area is open for tender,” he said.
The application of the first right refusal policy expected to start in the second semester of this year is aimed to encourage the development of the renewable energy, he said.
Related to geothermal development project, the government plans to form a team tasked to study selling price of electricity produced by the geothermal power plants prior to the tender.
Earlier, the government said it would tender five concessions in Seulawah Agam in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam, which is believed to have geothermal resources able to generate 160 megawatt (MW) of power; Jailolo in Halmahera, North Maluku (75 MW); Telaga Ngebel in Ponorogo, East Java (120 MW); Ungaran Mountain in Central Java (50 MW), Tampomas Mountain in West Java (50 MW).
“We are ready to auction off the concessions,” director general of mineral, geothermal and coal resources Simon F. Sembiring said on June 12, 2007. (*)