New incentive for Geothermal

Independent power producers involved in the operation of geothermal power plants will enjoy a feed in tariff of between US$0.09 and $0.01 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for new and expansion projects under the new regulation which will be issued by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Friday.

Kardaya Warnika, the director general of renewable energy, said in Jakarta on Thursday that the new regulation would revise the present ruling which set the ceiling price of geothermal power at $0.097 per kWh.

?The existing regulation causes a difficulty because the feed in tariff is set at a maximum of $0.097 per kWh), he said.

Under the present regulation, the government appoints state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to buy electricity from geothermal power plants under a price determined by both parties. However, the regulation also set price ceiling at $0.097 per kWh, which is considered being too low.(*)