New energy minister committed to speed up geothermal energy projects

Newly appointed Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, Jero Wacik, said he is committed to help speed up the development of geothermal power plants in the country.

To show his commitment, he plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Forestry Ministry this week to accelerate the exploration of geothermal energy areas.

?The Forestry Minister has responded positively and is now waiting to put down the commitment in the form of MoU. Therefore, companies working in geothermal sub-sector would not find it difficult anymore in dealing with the forestry-related issues,? Jero Wacik said Friday.

One of the biggest obstacles in developing geothermal power plants in Indonesia is the fact that most of geothermal resources are located within protected forest areas. Therefore, approval from the forestry ministry is needed.

To help speed up the development of geothermal energy, the government recently issued a decree to guarantee geothermal power plant projects.

Indonesia has an opportunity to utilize its geothermal energy for power plants given abundant resources, which are estimated to reach 29,038 MW, or 40 percent of the world?s geothermal energy potentials. So far, only 4 percent of geothermal energy has been utilized for power plants. (roffie/romel)