A new regulation aimed at setting a fixed feed-in tariff for geothermal power is about to come, clearing uncertainties for investors. However, a lack of accurate data on geothermal reserves in existing fields seems to have curbed investor confidence and impeded price negotiations.
Geothermal energy, the Earth’s internal heat, which can be harvested to generate consistent power, produces zero greenhouse gas, making it the perfect alternative to replace fossil fuels. Sitting on the ring of fire, Indonesia is said to have massive potential in geothermal reserves in almost 330 fields across the nation.
The government’s estimates, in a report published in 2013, cited around 29 gigawatts (GW) of geothermal potential. However, the country’s geothermal sector has remained sluggish with only 1.5 GW of geothermal power produced since the first geothermal power plant in Garut, West Java, in 1982.