New Revenue from Pertamina Geothermal Energy Carbon Credit Has Potential to Grow Significantly

JAKARTA – PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy Tbk (PGE) (IDX: PGEO) posted new revenue from carbon credits worth USD 747.000. This new revenue generator is recorded in the company's audited financial statements and published on March 30, 2023.

PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy Tbk Corporate Secretary Muhammad Baron said, from an operational standpoint, this carbon credit revenue was generated by two Geothermal Power Plants (PLTP), namely Ulubelu units 3 and 4 and Karaha which produced the equivalent of 1.7 million tonnes of reduced carbon emissions. calculated since the plant operates commercially until early 2020.

"In addition, PGE has also recorded the potential for reducing carbon emissions from PLTP Kamojang unit 5, Lumut Balai units 1 and 2 which use the Gold Standard, and PLTP Lahendong Units 5 and 6 which use the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)," he said in Jakarta, late last week.

All of these efforts open up new opportunities that have the potential to increase the economic value of reducing carbon emissions and will directly open up new revenue opportunities for PGE.

Relevant to the emission reduction contribution generated by the PLTP being operated, PGE also has an Environmental Sustainability and Governance (ESG) initiative. This ESG commitment has been proven by obtaining the second highest rating on the ESG Rating (ER) in the category of good performance in terms of ESG management by the rating agency Sustainable Fitch.

"Some of PGE's ESG programs that are already running include the Eagle Conservation Center's biodiversity program, especially the Javan Eagle or Nisaetus Bartelsi species in the Kamojang Area, Garut Sheep Breeding, Chrysanthemum Flower Conservation, Saburai Goat Breeding, and Sulawesi Crested Monkey (Yaki) Conservation. "In addition, PGE also rehabilitated 588 hectares of forest area and carried out massive reforestation efforts," he explained.

PGE is also committed to developing the community through the Kamojang Digital Village program with the Digital Ranger Apps application program which aims to empower surrounding Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the "Signal Kita" tree WiFi service.

"Through the two programs above, the benefits of PGE's ESG commitment can be felt directly in supporting environmental sustainability and a circular economy through paid internet connections using waste or by planting trees," he said.

In addition, PGE also runs Emergency Response Group Millennials (ERMi), which is a community empowerment program in the Ulubelu area that focuses on disaster management and the environment, such as installing landslide detectors. Geothermal utilization for green hydrogen is a potential opportunity in the future. In many countries, PLTP is used as a source of electricity to produce hydrogen through electrolysis for various purposes.

"Two of them are for the transportation and petrochemical sectors, where in the future green hydrogen is believed to be a game changer to achieve decarbonization," he concluded.