Govt to start tender for 25 geothermal working areas soon

By Donald Haromunthe

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will soon hold tender for 25 geothermal working areas across the country to develop power plants, according to a senior official.

Tunggal, Secretary of Director General of New and Renewable Energy told Petromindo.com on Thursday that the tender will likely start at the end of this year as the ministry is still awaiting the final exploration reports of a number of geothermal working areas.

He said that the geothermal sector is expected to contribute about 1,180 MW to the government?s plan to develop a total of 35,000 MW of power plants over the next five years.

Geothermal plants in the country currently produce 1,403 MW of electricity.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak