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Govt tells PLN to build geothermal power plant in Maluku
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has ordered the state-owned electricity provider to immediately get to work on a geothermal power plant project in Maluku to increase clean energy supply in Eastern Indonesia.
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Superheated system: A worker carries sacks on Aug. 19, 2020, at a farm near a geothermal energy plant of PT Geo Dipa Energi at Dieng Plateau in Banjarnegara regency, Central Java. (Antara/Anis Efizudin)
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nergy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia ordered electricity provider PT PLN to immediately get to work on a geothermal power plant in Maluku to increase clean energy supply in Eastern Indonesia.
“PLN is a state-owned enterprise appointed by the state to carry out assignments so that all people can get electricity,” Bahlil said in Ambon, Maluku, on Saturday, as quoted in a statement issued by the energy ministry.
The electricity system in Maluku remains highly dependent on fossil-fuel power plants. In 2024, the total power generation capacity in the region reached 409 megawatts, of which 406 MW, or 99 percent, was generated from diesel power plants and a combination of gas and steam-fueled power plants.
Diesel power plants make up 249 MW, or 61 percent, of the total power generation in the province, followed by gas and steam-based power plants, which generated 157 MW of electricity.
Solar power plants and hydropower plants make up the remaining 3.1 MW.
Maluku has potential for geothermal power, which Bahlil said must be put to use “immediately”.
The minister was referring to 40 MW worth of geothermal power plant projects in the province that have yet to be realized, namely for the 20 MW Wapsalit plant and for the 20 MW Tulehu plant, located on Buru Island and Ambon Island, respectively.
