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Pertamina Geothermal Energy exploring wider use of geothermal energy

Pertamina Geothermal Energy exploring wider use of geothermal energy Lahendong geothermal power plant, Indonsia (source: Pertamina Geothermal Energy)
Alexander Richter 8 May 2022

State-owned PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy is exploring various other direct use opportunities in connection with its geothermal operations, among them agriculture, green hydrogen production, CO2 processing and rare metals.

In a webinar “Renewable Energy Invest in Indonesia 2022” which took place in Jakarta in April 2022, Ahmad Yuniarto, President Director of PT Pertamina Geothermal Energi, said that his company will utilize geothermal energy for various other benefits. Apart from electricity, geothermal energy can be used for other purposes.

“There are at least five business opportunities that can grow with geothermal energy,” said Ahmad in the webinar.

The five business opportunities are green hydrogen, CO2 processing and green raw materials, extraction of nano-materials (rare metals), agriculture, and tourism.

“In Europe, the use of geothermal for many purposes is very popular, for example for city heating ,” said Ahmad.

Referring to data by the European Geothermal Energy Council, Europe’s installed capacity for the generation of thermal energy (heat) has reached 5.5 GW thermal in 2019.

Ahmad is optimistic that Indonesia can do the same. Currently, said Ahmad, PT PGE has started to apply geothermal for potato farming in Garut and Kamojang, two areas where PT PGE’s geothermal power plant operates.

“The profits obtained by farmers can increase up to 10 times compared to conventional farming,” he said.

PT PGE made a cylindrical tank with a diameter of 1.5 meters to sterilize Cocopeat, a growing medium for potato seeds, from bacteria and viruses. Sterilization is done by heating the tank by utilizing steam from the Kamojang PLTP.

“Cocopeat heating takes about 4-5 hours,” said Zamzam Nurzaman, Head of the Mustika Hutan Village Community Institute (LMDH), Kamojang, Bandung Regency, West Java.

According to Zamzam, previously they heated Cocopeat with drums with wood or gas. “The current process is faster and the numbers are much larger,” he said. With drums they can only heat two sacks (60 kg) of Cocopeat at most, while with PT PGE’s tank they can heat up to 20 sacks (600 kg). “We also don’t have to pay to PT PGE. Previously we had to pay for wood or gas,” he said.

This heating facility is part of PT PGE’s social responsibility program under the name Geothermal Potato (Geotato) since 2018 starting with a trial run. PT PGE provides two heating tanks. One special tank for potatoes, another for mushrooms. “However, if it’s empty, we’ll use it too,” said Zamzam. Currently, there are eight farmers engaged in the potato seed business.

Lebijh continued, Ahmad said that the opportunity for agricultural development (GeoAgro Industry) in the area around the geothermal power plant was still wide open. PT PGE currently has 13 geothermal working areas. Six of them are already operating and self-managed with a capacity of 672 MW.

The six working areas are Kamojang and Karaha in West Java, Sibayak (North Sumatra), Lumut Balai (South Sumatra), Ulubelu (Lampung), and Lahendong (North Sulawesi).

Apart from agriculture, PT PGE also sees enormous potential in the tourism sector in the Lahendong Working Area in Tomohon. The company is planning to build a tourism object with the concept of a geothermal park, for example by utilizing hot springs, tours, and education about geothermal energy.

Green Hydrogen

Ahmad Yuniarto in the forum also stated that the use of geothermal for green hydrogen is a very attractive opportunity in the future. In many countries, PLTP is used as a source of electricity to produce hydrogen through the electrolysis process.

Hydrogen is used for various purposes. Two of them are for the transportation and petrochemical sectors. “Green hydrogen will be a game changer for achieving decarbonization.”

Indeed, said Ahmad, there is still a long way to go. “We are just in the early stages, still learning how to utilize green hydrogen on a commercial scale.” Unlike the electricity sector, where PLN is ready to buy hot steam from geothermal developers, in the hydrogen industry, developers have to build a whole value chain to get to the final consumer.

Therefore, said Ahmad, PGE will invite all parties in Indonesia to jointly develop hydrogen. There are many advantages to using hydrogen. Apart from reducing energy costs by a huge amount compared to fossil energy, especially when the price of crude oil is rising high as it is today, the use of hydrogen can also reduce carbon emissions.

“Hydrogen is very beautiful for decarbonization,” said Ahmad.

As an illustration, Japan is one of the countries that will rely on hydrogen in its de-carbonization program in 2050. Last year, the Japanese government allocated US$3 billion or around 43 trillion rupiahs only for research on large-scale hydrogen transportation equipment. To achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050, Japan estimates it will need 20 million tons of hydrogen annually.

These various uses are PGE’s commitment to continue developing geothermal energy and ensure the implementation of Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) to become an integrated part of PGE’s geothermal business. The implementation of these ESG aspects is an effort to provide added value and support PGE to government programs related to the use of new, renewable energy that is environmentally friendly, especially geothermal.

Indonesia has declared Net Zero Emission in 2060 or sooner by targeting a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 29 percent by 2030, and a target of new renewable energy mix (EBT) of 23 percent by 2025. PGE’s commitment to the development of thermal energy the earth can contribute to achieving the 7th goal of sustainable development (clean and affordable energy), the 8th goal (decent work and economic development), and the 13th goal (handling climate change) in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Source: Koran Jakarta