PGE accounts for 88 percent of Indonesia's total geothermal installed capacityJakarta (ANTARA) - The Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR) supports the accelerated development of PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) to become a state-owned enterprise (SOE) geothermal company.
"PGE has the capability of becoming the main state-owned geothermal company," Faisol Riza, head of the Commission VI of DPR, remarked here on Wednesday. today.
Riza noted that the key to successfully developing a geothermal industry is the exploration capability of the upstream segment due to the intersection of the geothermal and oil and natural gas industries.
Riza noted that PGE has had a positive track record, with nearly five decades of experience in geothermal management. The company had recently produced 1,877 megawatts of geothermal power in its working areas.
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"PGE accounts for 88 percent of Indonesia's total geothermal installed capacity," he noted.
Riza believed that PGE is able to lead the consolidation of assets from other SOEs also operating in the area of renewable energy, such as PT PLN Gas and Geothermal and PT Indonesia Power.
The DPR Commission VI head further highlighted that PGE had become a pioneer in geothermal management in Indonesia. Since 1974, the state-owned company had been conducting geothermal exploration from upstream to downstream.
PGE has implemented several upstream programs, such as geological surveys, geophysical surveys, geochemical surveys, and drilling wells of exploration and expansion.
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Meanwhile, PGE's downstream activities comprise exploitation and utilization that include the construction of steam fields, geothermal power plants, and transmission networks.
The DPR expects PGE’s potential and experience to become an asset for the company to lead the SOE's consolidation of geothermal companies.
In the next five years, Indonesia is expected to have an installed geothermal capacity reaching 2.5 gigawatts.
"This process aims to develop the geothermal industry in Indonesia. We believe that PGE, as a main company in the consolidation, is able to conduct the mission," Riza noted.
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Translator: Sugiharto P, Resinta Sulistiya
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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