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Indonesia allocates $375m on geothermal exploration in 2016

Indonesia allocates $375m on geothermal exploration in 2016 JW Marriott, Jakarta, Indonesia (source: flickr/ Aktiv Phil, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas 17 Jun 2015

Geothermal funds represent half of the renewable energy budget that the government plans to spend.

Following earlier news that the Indonesian Government has very ambitious plans to expand renewables in the country, other news state that it also “seeks to allocate Rp 5 trillion ($375 million) from the state budget next year for geothermal exploration, in order to accelerate development of the energy source that has a potential of 28,000 megawatts. The money accounts for half of the Rp 10 trillion renewable energy budget that the government plans to spend next year”

One of the main reasons behind the slow development of geothermal projects has been the lack of resources yet, the government should avoid giving the aforementioned allocated funds as loans for exploration according to Abadi Purnama, chairman of the Indonesian Geothermal Association. He proposes to “outsource exploration to state-owned firms such as Geodipa and Pertamina or its geological agency.” in order to assure a better and faster development of geothermal projects.

Source: Jakarta Globe