"Indonesia has gradually reduced its subsidy to fossil fuels and encourages the use of alternative energy," he said in a press statement received here on Wednesday.
Anwar made the remarks to support the call by the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) for efforts to maintain and preserve the environment.
Anwar who is a politician of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said he wanted that Asian countries to establish cooperation on clean energy through a joint study initiative and transfer of technology.
The role of the private companies should be given attention so that they would take part in preserving and maintaining it. Those who violated the rules should face legal measures.
The use of geothermal energy as one of renewable energy sources in Indonesia is still viewed as very expensive. This needs a number of policies so that it would be affordable.
"Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR) wants to seek solutions with the relevant ministries so that geothermal energy could be included in the sale scheme affordable by the people," Deputy Chairman of Commission XI Achmad Hafisz Tohir said meanwhile.
He said that owing to the expensive technology development, the price of geothermal-generated electricity is more expensive than fossil-fuel generated electricity.
Therefore, one of the ways to set an ideal price for geothermal energy is to provide a cross-subsidy with fossil fuels.
Legislator Willgo Zainar of Commission XI said geothermal research center is needed to study and mitigate financial risks of using geothermal energy.
"Geothermal energy potential continues to increase. I think the greatest geothermal deposit constitutes a long-term investment potential," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
