Government Supports Development of Renewable Energy from Geothermal Sources, Encourages Implementation of JCM Scheme

INTI,- Indonesia, the country with the world's second-largest geothermal potential, needs to continue optimizing the utilization of geothermal energy and managing the challenges and risks associated with its development. These include exploration risks, upstream and downstream risks, supply-demand risks, operational risks, and regulatory risks.

To support these efforts, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, through its Assistant Deputy for Multilateral Economic Cooperation, Ferry Ardiyanto, who is also the Co-chair of the Joint Committee Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) Indonesia, along with the JCM Indonesia Secretariat, visited PT Geo Dipa Energi (GOE) in Dieng, Central Java on Thursday (2/03/2023).

The visit aimed to benchmark the implementation of a geothermal power plant that has been operating in the Dieng unit. This was because in April 2022, the Japanese government approved the allocation of the Japan Fund for JCM (JFJCM) amounting to USD10 million for the Patuha Unit 2 Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) project of PT GOE.

The activity was also conducted to discuss the development of JCM implementation, including the problems and obstacles encountered. One of the activities encouraged in JCM is the development of renewable energy, including the utilization of geothermal energy for electricity generation. Through JCM, various facilities are provided to overcome challenges such as bankability aspects, the latest low-carbon technology, and capacity building and technology learning.

In addition, low-carbon technologies supported by JFJCM will be implemented in anomaly predictive diagnosis using the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence, the development of steam turbines with advanced designs, direct drive motors for cooling tower fans, monitoring software, and other systems. The implementation of low-carbon technology in the Patuha-2 unit is expected to bring various benefits, such as increasing power plant efficiency, minimizing power plant performance decline, and reducing power plant outage periods.

Furthermore, Asdep Ferry conveyed that the implementation of this technology would increase the penetration of renewable energy into the Indonesian electricity grid system while reducing project emissions. "Especially as CO2 and CH4 emissions from geothermal steam can be reduced," concluded Asdep Ferry.

The project is estimated to result in a verified carbon emission reduction of 264,200 tons of CO2 equivalent per year for 20 years. These carbon credits will be used to fulfill international carbon emission reduction commitments.

For information, JCM is a bilateral climate change mitigation cooperation that facilitates technology, financing, and capacity building from Japan that is feasible, according to business calculations, to be implemented in a project in Indonesia. JCM was signed by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs and the Foreign Minister of Japan in August 2013. Furthermore, JCM implementation is carried out under the coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs involving relevant ministries/institutions.***.Hans