Bali will have to reconsider geothermal preparing for the future
Bali, Indonesia (source: flickr/ Dennis Keller, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
4 Mar 2014
With an ever increasing energy demand and a dependency on power provided through Java, Bali will have to reconsider its decision not to pursue geothermal or think about real alternatives soon, so Indonesia's Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources.
In a recent interview, Indonesia’ s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik, said that the people who reject geothermal development in Bali, will have to come up with other solutions and other alternative energy options to overcome the island’s electricity crisis.
He was commenting on the Bedugul geothermal project, which has been rejected by local opposition. Currently the island is dependent on electricity provided through cable from the island of Java. Bali is rather densely populated and demand for electricity has been increasing steadily over the years with much further growth in demand expected.
“We’re going to need a lot of alternative power supply, both for in the short, medium and long term,” he said after giving a public lecture at the College of eco-tourism (STP) Bali in Nusa Dua, earlier in February.
He said that Bali cannot risk to rely solely on Java. Should the submarine cable break, Bali would end up pitch black and the impact of that would have a dramatic impact on the local economy.
There are other energy options, such as gas, coal, solar, geothermal and others. But geothermal provides likely the best solution and should therefore not be excluded. In any way, the island will have to look at alternatives as it will be in demand of power very soon.
He accepts different opinions, but there will have to be a consensus across all components of society, the private sector and government to look for an energy option that helps prepare and set up Bali for a positive future. A power black out is a real threat and Bali will have to look at how to become energy independent before it is too late.
Currently, the electrical load in Bali reached 600 MW. “Properly Bali should be able to provide a supply of 1,000 MW that could be safer,” he said.
Source: SindoNews
