The revenue was around 134.1 percent of the Rp1.43 trillion targeted last year, Director General of New, Renewable Energy, and Energy Conservation Dadan Kusdiana said at a press conference here on Monday.
The realization of the revenue was influenced by six factors: the optimization of geothermal development costs; lack of execution of activities planning; realization of smaller operating costs compared to the initial plan; amendments to the increase in electricity selling price; the exchange rate of the rupiah against the US dollar; and the provision of VAT reimbursement balances, which were not realized, he informed.
Ninety-seven percent of the geothermal revenue was derived from existing geothermal work areas in the form of government share deposits, while geothermal permit holders contributed 3 percent to the revenue, Kusdiana said.
Data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has pegged the total capacity of installed geothermal power plants in Indonesia at 2.27 gigawatts. The government is targeting the realization of geothermal investment of US$ 0.95 billion this year, he informed.
Under the General National Energy Plan, the government will encourage the use of geothermal energy to generate 7.24 gigawatts of power by 2025 and 9.3 gigawatts by 2035.
The Pacific circle of fire, which stretches from Aceh to Papua, has 127 active volcanoes, which can be utilized as sources of clean geothermal energy, Kusdiana said.
Indonesia currently ranks second, after the United States, in terms of geothermal resources and has the largest installed capacity of volcanic electricity globally.
The abundance of geothermal resources has the potential to offer smoother energy transition in Indonesia, he said.
The government is currently drafting regulations and incentives to push for the development of geothermal energy, he added.
For the 2020–2035 geothermal development program, the government has compiled a number of measures to promote geothermal development through collaboration, risk mitigation, and optimization, Kusdiana said.
Through the budget of the ministry, the Geological Agency will conduct exploration drilling in 20 geothermal work areas, with a development plan of 683 megawatts until 2024, he added.
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Translator: Sugiharto P, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
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