South Sumatra is officially recorded to have geothermal energy potential of up to 2,095 Megawatts, equivalent to 10% of the total geothermal potential in the country of 29 Gigawatts. This potential, according to the ESDM Director of Geothermal Energy, Trisnaldi, must be worked on and the results prioritized to meet the electricity needs of the people in South Sumatra.
“Electricity which will be produced from geothermal power plants (PLTP) is the priority for producing regions,” Trisnaldi said, during the inauguration of the inaugural PT Supreme Energy exploration well Rantau Dedap in Muara Enim District, some time ago
Trisnaldi explained, of the 39 new geothermal mining (WKP) working areas that have been signed by the government, only two blocks have begun exploration, namely the Muara Labo Block in West Sumatra and the Rantau Dedap Block in South Sumatra. The two blocks are managed by PT Supreme Energy.
Whereas according to data from the South Sumatra Mining and Energy Office, there are 6 geothermal locations that are being developed in this province. In addition to the Rantau Dedap Block, the Tanjung Sakti Block and the Empat Lawang Block will be managed by Turkish investors, Hitay Group. In addition there is the Lumut Balai Block managed by Pertamina Geothermal Energy which has explored with a potential of 2 x 55 MW. Beyond that there are still more Ranau Blocks and Rawas Blocks that have not been released.
During this time, in Indonesia, the use of energy substitute potential from these fossils encountered many problems, including licensing and overlapping of land, because the Geothermal WKP is in a forest with many protected forest statuses or reserves, which collide with the Law No. 41/1999 concerning forestry. One solution, of course, is to revise Law No. 27/2003 on geothermal energy, which is one of the main points related to the use of conservation forest for geothermal energy which has been still.
“Nearly 70% of geothermal locations are in conservation forests. While in the Forestry Law, mining activities cannot be carried out in conservation forest areas. So that it is indeed necessary to apply forest use loans for geothermal utilization. The rest, the project area is in production forests and protected forests that can use IPPKH, “said Trisnaldi.
The latest information, the Rantau Dedap Thermal Power Plant (PLTP) in Muara Enim Regency, Lahat Regency and Pagar Alam City, South Sumatra Province has entered the exploitation phase, marked by the taxation of RD-I3 wells which are the first exploitation wells on August 4, 2018 then, by the Director General of EBTKE at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Rida Mulyana, accompanied by Director of Geothermal Energy, Ida Nuryatin Finahari.
The project of Rantau Dedap PLTP will provide additional state revenues in the form of Non-Tax State Revenues (PNBP) of US $ 106.87 million for the period of exploitation and utilization and other income with details; total exploration fees of US $ 626,460, total fixed contributions during exploitation and utilization (30 years) of US $ 4.25 million, PNBP production fees / royalties (assuming electricity generation of 681.9 GWh / year) of US $ 85 million during the period of exploitation and utilization, and from Production bonuses for the three districts (Muara Enim, Lahat and Pagar Alam) of US $ 17 million during the Production period. This state revenue does not include revenue from the tax sector.
The Rantau Dedap PLTP itself will be developed in 2 stages with an overall capacity of 220 MW. Phase I of 86 MW is planned to be COD in mid-2020 while phase 2 of 134 MW is targeted to COD in 2025. After operating, later the Rantau Dedap PLTP will be able to power more than 130 thousand houses. In addition, during the construction phase, the project will create 1,200 new jobs.
In South Sumatra, the potential of geothermal energy reaches up to 2,095 megawatts, equivalent to 10% of the country’s total geothermal energy. In 2012 PLN with a consortium consisting of PT Supreme Energy, GDF Suez and Marubeni Corporation collaborated to build the Rantau Dedap PLTP with a capacity of 2x110MW in Muara Enim Regency.
In addition, in Rantau Dedap, geothermal geothermal power plants are also located in Lumut Balai Village, namely PLTP Unit 1 and 2 with a capacity of 2×55 MW, and PLTP Lumut Balai units 3 and 4. projected in 2022 with a capacity of 110 MW. According to the Muara Enim Regency Mining and Energy Office, Pertamina Geothermal Energi has explored this Lumut Balai area and managed to find a reserve with a capacity of 60 MW.
