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Planned new Indonesian capital could tap into geothermal energy for power

Planned new Indonesian capital could tap into geothermal energy for power Indonesian President Joko Widodo opening the IIGCE 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia (source: ThinkGeoEnergy)
Alexander Richter 22 Dec 2019

With an estimated power demand of 1,555 MW in generation capacity, the new planned capital city of Indonesia in East Kalimantan could tap into geothermal energy as part of renewable energy development.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Indonesia is looking to move its capital from Jakarta to a new city. East Kalimantan has been designated as the location for the new capital city. The area is in one location which partly belongs to the District of Panajam Paser Utara, partly part of the Regency of Kutai Kartanegara (Kukar).

President Jokowi has also set Sepaku Subdistrict, North Penajam Paser District, as a location for government complexes, including the presidential palace.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) estimates that the new capital city will need additional power plants with a total capacity of 1,555 MW. The need for electricity capacity is to ensure the reliability of supply with a 30 percent power reserve.

The Director General of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Rida Mulyana, said, based on the PT PLN (Persero) 2019-2028 Electric Power Supply (RUPTL) Business Plan, an additional power plant up to 2024 in East Kalimantan was only 691 MW so that an additional new power plant of around 864 MW was needed in the region.

“To guarantee electricity supply, additional new power plants are located near or in the Province of East Kalimantan,” Rida said in August 2019.

Rida also said, to supply electricity to the new capital, a new renewable energy generator (EBT) would be built to reduce the dominance of coal-fired steam generators.

Related to the potential of renewable energy deployment, East Kalimantan, especially Kutai Kartanegara Regency has the potential of geothermal energy. From the note of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, geothermal potential can be found in two areas, in Dondang and Sungai Batuq. The existence of geothermal in both these areas is characterized by the appearance of natural hot water.

Dondang is included in the Kutai Kartanegara Regency. From the results of the preliminary survey, the geothermal potential in this place reaches 10 MW (speculative). The survey was conducted by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in 2014.

Among the Dondang hot springs appeared in Handil II, Muara Jawa, which appeared on a private land owned by a resident named Fatmawati.

Pamandian hot water is still a simple existence. But the manager, Fatmawati, has provided bathing rooms for residents who want to take a hot shower.

The Batuq region, still in the Kutai Kartanegara region, has a 7 MW (speculative) geothermal potential.

Like in Dondang, the existence of geothermal in Batuq is characterized by the appearance of hot water from the bowels of the earth. According to researchers from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Batuq hot springs are located in the partial equilibrium zone, which indicates that this hot water comes from depth.

Mulawarman University Professor, Prof. Dr. Daddy Ruchyat briefly highlighted the geothermal potential in East Kalimantan. According to him, the Kalimantan Provincial Government of Tmur needs to accommodate geothermal alternative energy as an environmentally friendly green energy.

According to Daddy, geothermal energy is included in the green energy group because it does not have an impact on the environment, while some alternative energy in the EBT group, it is still possible to have an impact on the environment.

Source: Panas Bumi News