"I hope that regional governments can play a more active role and become facilitators in geothermal exploitation and utilization activities," the Vice President said at the "9th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention and Exhibition (IIGCE) 2023" at the Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta, on Wednesday.
He called for improvements in data quality and incentives for geothermal exploration activities to reduce the risk of geothermal development in Indonesia while maintaining a more competitive selling price for geothermal electricity.
He also noted that program support and improved mechanisms are needed to attract more interest from geothermal developers in Indonesia.
For example, he said, the preliminary and exploration survey assignment program that has been carried out by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources needs to be expanded to locations where there is insufficient data to make things easier for developers.
The government has provided incentives for geothermal exploration in the form of funding through the Geothermal Sector Infrastructure Financing Program and the Geothermal Resources Risk Mitigation Program, he informed.
He said he hopes that geothermal developers can make the best use of the facilities.
Furthermore, the existence of geothermal plants is expected to contribute to encouraging local economic growth, especially in infrastructure development and increasing local community income, he added.
The Vice President urged regional governments and geothermal developers to work together to maximize the potential for the direct use of geothermal energy, both for processing in the agricultural sector, educational recreation facilities, and tourism in managed areas.
According to him, regional governments must play a more active role in providing a holistic understanding to the community regarding the potential, impacts, and prospects for implementing geothermal development projects in their respective regions.
"Finally, I would like to convey that the majority of geothermal resources are in forest areas. Management that does not pay attention to the carrying capacity of the ecosystem has the potential to cause forest damage and threaten animal life. For this reason, efforts to preserve forest areas in geothermal resource areas need to be carried out in a sustainable manner," he explained.
He said he hopes that the IIGCE 2023 forum can become a medium for exchanging knowledge, experiences, ideas, and breakthroughs, as well as best practices for geothermal management and development, as an energy transition effort toward achieving net zero emissions by 2060 or sooner.
"Finally, I officially declare the 9th International Geothermal Convention and Exhibition 2023 open," the Vice President said.
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Translator: Rangga P, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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