Indonesia’s Ministry of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) is planning to form a geothermal group in 2021 which is expected to become the largest in the world.

The group will manage PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), PT Geo Dipa Energi, and PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) Gas & Geothermal.

SOE Deputy Minister Pahala Mansury recently said that a plan is being mulled over to combine geothermal assets of the three companies. The joint institution will be owned by Pertamina, PLN and the Indonesian government so that optimal synergy can be obtained.

Meanwhile, Director of PT PLN Ikhsan Assaad asserted that the discussions were still ongoing, adding that PT PLN Gas & Geothermal and PGE are conducting a joint study for geothermal development in Lahendong in North Sulawesi and Ulu Belu in Lampung.

This year, the firm plans to carry out the operation of the Lahendong power plant with a capacity of 80 MW, Ulumbu power plant with 10 MW, and Mataloko power plant with 2.5 MW.

In addition, PLN Gas & Geothermal also run a joint study with PGE and Geo Dipa to develop a binary power plant with a total capacity of 30 MW at the existing plants of Lahendong, Ulubelu and Dieng, in Central Java.

The Indonesian government sees the country could manage 1 GW of geothermal projects in 2030 showed by the roadmap developed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The country itself has considerable geothermal energy potential with capacity 25,300 MW, but only 2,130 MW has been absorbed as a source of electrical energy.

Source: VNA