Geothermal Power Offers Future Benefits but Tricky Business Schemes
Chairman of the Indonesian Center for Renewable Energy Studies (ICRES), Surya Darma, asserts that the Indonesian government should reevaluate the prices of geothermal electricity to make it more lucrative. According to him, the rates stipulated in Presidential Regulation No. 112/2022 are insufficient to accommodate the economic considerations of developing geothermal power plants (PLTP) in Indonesia.
Surya emphasizes that various factors influence geothermal investments, such as high exploration risks and challenging infrastructure provision. Considering the scale of capacity, infrastructure, and government support, the electricity prices from geothermal power plants could be above 10 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). "In addition to addressing the business aspects, the government should also provide legal certainty in business endeavors, eliminate prolonged price negotiation patterns to ensure a more predictable timeline," he said, as quoted by Kontan on Feb 11.