Ministry Of Energy And Mineral Resources Denies Mount Lawu Will Be Auctioned For Geothermal Projects

Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) Eniya Listiyani Dewi. (Photo: Maria Trisnawati/VOI)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) through the Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), Eniya Listiyani Dewi, denied that Mount Lawu was included in the geothermal project.

This follows the hectic news on social media that the active volcano in Central Java is included in the geothermal project to be auctioned off by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

"Oh no, it's outside. Anyway, there is an area outside the Lawu area. Because it has been issued," said Eniya when met at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Building, Tuesday, October 14.

Eniya said, actually the geothermal project around Mount Lawu was included in the discourse to be developed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources but stumbled on social issues and social wisdom.

"Yes, because of social issues. And social issues there are all kinds of things," he continued.

Eniya said that currently the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is still focusing on the geothermal drilling project on Mount Hamiding in North Halmahera, North Maluku, and the Bonjol PLTP in West Sumatra which will be carried out this weekend.

"The first drilling to Hamiding and Bonjol. This is local at the same time, this weekend," continued Eniya.

For information, Indonesia has a large potential for geothermal resources, reaching 23,742 Megawatts (MW).

Of that number, there are still great opportunities for geothermal development in Indonesia.

Currently, Indonesia occupies the number two position as a global producer of geothermal electricity.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia said, with an installed capacity of 2,744 Megawatts (MW) of geothermal sources, Indonesia's position is only below the United States which has 3,937 MW of electricity from geothermal.

"We know that geothermal is one of the new renewable energy sources, and Indonesia has a large enough reserves, the largest in the world. And from here, we can manage only about 10 percent of which we can manage. This means that there is still 90 percent of this potential," Bahlil said as quoted on Thursday, September 18.

Sebagai tindak lanjut, Kementerian ESDM menyederhanakan perizinan dan regulasi, yang disinyalir dapat menghambat investasi, untuk mempercepat pemanfaatan panas bumi.

Tahun 2024, Kementerian ESDM telah meluncurkan platform digital untuk pengelolaan panas bumi bernama Genesis. Mulai tahun ini, lelang WKP dilakukan melalui platform Genesis.

As a follow-up, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has simplified licensing and regulations, which are allegedly hampering investment, to accelerate geothermal utilization.

In 2024, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has launched a digital platform for geothermal management called Genesis. Starting this year, the WKP auction will be conducted through the Genesis platform.