Waisano geothermal project to get WB fund

The Waisano geothermal working area in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara Province, will be the first geothermal development project to be funded by the recent World Bank?s grant facility.

The Directorate General of New and Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said in a statement obtained Wednesday that the Waisano geothermal working area holds geothermal potential reserves of 60 MW. But tender to select developer of the planned project will wait until the directorate together with the Directorate General of Electricity decides on the planned development capacity.

Exploration activity at the geothermal working area will be started once the Ministry of Finance (MoF) issues ministerial regulation on the use of the World Bank grant facility, PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI), a unit at MoF, sets up a geothermal working unit, and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources have signed MoU on the use of the World Bank grant facility, the statement said.

The World Bank has provided grant facility worth US$55 million to help finance geothermal upstream development project in Indonesia, comprising of $49 million of clean technology fund, and the remainder in the form of technical assistance. PT SMI manages the facility as a revolving fund.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak