Govt to build geothermal power plant in East Nusa Tenggara

The government will build a 2x1.25 megawatt capacity geothermal power plant in Mataloko village in Ngada regency, East Nusa Tenggara. The cost of the project will be Rp6.5 billion, the Koran Tempo newspaper reported in its Saturday edition.

It will be a pilot project and the result of cooperation between local government and the state-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN). The plant will be completed in 2006. Currently, the building of infrastructure is under progress, the boring activity for finding geothermal steam is also going on.

Director-General for mineral resources and geology Simon Felix Sembiring said on Friday that the usage of geothermal steam as a source of energy must be intensified. Because this energy source is relatively new, which can not be exported and environment friendly. But so far the usage of geothermal capacity is still low just 800 megawatts. (*)