Jakarta – Indonesia continues to demonstrate its commitment to developing renewable energy, especially geothermal energy, amid global efforts to address the climate crisis.
At the 2024 Indonesia International Sustainability Forum (ISF) held at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on Thursday (5/9), industry leaders called for international collaboration to accelerate the sustainability agenda.
In this regard, the President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero), Nicke Widyawati, emphasized that geothermal energy is the best choice for Indonesia in developing energy with low carbon value.
“We need baseload to increase renewable energy penetration. Geothermal is the best choice for Indonesia,” Nicke said.
Nicke added that Indonesia has the second largest geothermal potential in the world, with a total potential of 28 gigawatts. However, currently, less than 10 percent of this potential can be operated.
“PT Pertamina has the capacity to develop this potential further,” said Pertamina’s President Director.
The ISF 2024 forum aims to foster international collaboration on decarbonization and strengthen global efforts towards sustainable development. More than 11,000 participants from 53 countries are attending, making the ISF the second largest climate action meeting in the Asia-Pacific region after COP29 which will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan.
ISF 2024 brings together more than 250 speakers from government, business, multilateral organizations, and civil society. The forum will hold 10 plenary sessions and 15 thematic sessions to discuss issues related to sustainable growth, including the development of geothermal energy as a future solution for Indonesia and the world.
Meanwhile, the Director of Geothermal of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Gigih Udi Atmo revealed the Government’s strategy in developing geothermal energy. One of them is through optimizing electricity consumption through the Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL).
“We encourage it to be included in the RUPTL of PT PLN, in the current RUPTL for 2021-2030, it is 3,355 megawatts or more than 3.3 gigawatts,” explained Gigih.
Furthermore, the Director of Geothermal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources revealed that Indonesia’s geothermal energy is one of the largest in the world, with the potential to develop electrification of up to 24 gigawatts.
“Geothermal heat sources are strategically important for the energy transition,” he said.
ISF 2024 marks Indonesia’s strong commitment to continue developing renewable energy and contributing to climate change mitigation at the global level.