Despite several persistent challenges, geothermal energy remains a very interesting (and relatively environmentally friendly) power source for Indonesia. It is estimated that Indonesia is home to 40 percent of total global geothermal energy potential. But as impressive as that sounds, the country only uses a fraction of the potential. So, let’s take a look at recent developments in terms of geothermal power in Indonesia.

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On Thursday (05/09) Indonesia Investments released the August 2019 edition of its monthly research report. The report aims to inform the reader of the key political, economic and social developments that occurred in Indonesia in the month of August 2019 and also touches upon key international developments that impacted on the Indonesian economy.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo inaugurated the country's first wind turbine power plant in Sidrap (South Sulawesi) on Monday (02/07). This plant, which has a total capacity of 75 MW, consists of 30 wind turbine generators (which are the electrical machines used to generate the electricity).

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Discussions about the regulatory framework - including incentives - for the electric car industry in Indonesia are ongoing. Hence, stakeholders in the country's automotive industry are eagerly awaiting for results of government discussions and a roadmap before investing in manufacturing facilities for the launch of electric cars on the Indonesian market.

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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said Indonesia managed to raise the nation's electrification ratio to 92.8 percent in the first half of 2017, hence achieving its target. The electrification ratio is the percentage of Indonesian households that are connected to the nation's electricity grid. The 92.8 percent ratio is a great improvement from 84 percent at the end of 2014, implying the Joko Widodo government performed well in this area. It targets for "near-universal" electricity access by 2020.

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) expects Indonesia's headline inflation to ease in March 2017 as food prices are under control and can therefore offset the inflationary pressures that are caused by administered price adjustments (higher electricity tariffs). In February 2017 Indonesia's inflation rate accelerated to 3.81 percent (y/y) due to the ongoing impact of the higher electricity tariffs that were introduced by the government in January as well as a number of big floods that curtailed distribution channels across parts of Sumatra and Java.

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Indonesia's Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) expects Indonesian inflation to reach 4.7 percent year-on-year (y/y) in full-year 2017, just within the central bank's 3 - 5 percent (y/y) inflation target. Didiek Madiyono, Executive Director of the LPS, said administered price adjustments will be the primary reason why the inflation rate of Indonesia will accelerate from 3.0 percent (y/y) in 2016 to 4.7 percent (y/y) in 2017. Administered prices are those prices that are set by the government. Usually when the government changes its subsidy policies, it needs to adjust certain prices.

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Most analysts and government officials see Indonesian inflation accelerating this year after a mild 2016 in which Indonesia's consumer price index rose by 3.02 percent year-on-year (y/y) only. Indonesian Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution said low inflation in 2016 was primarily caused by low administered price growth (in a couple of months administered prices in fact fell last year) as well as controlled food prices. He added, however, that food prices have been rather volatile and are expected to remain volatile in 2017.

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Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Indonesia's state-owned electricity company, stated that a total of 158.64 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity was sold in Indonesia in the fist nine months of 2016, up 7.2 percent year-on-year (y/y) from 148.0 TWh of electricity sales in the same period of 2015. Benny Marbun, Head of PLN's Commercial Division, said rising electricity sales (as well as consumption) are the result of Indonesia's improving economy. In 2016 the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to expand 5.0 percent (y/y), from 4.8 percent (y/y) in 2015.

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Five high-profile consortia have expressed their interest to develop the USD $2 billion Java I steam & gas power plant in Muara Tawar, Bekasi (West Java). State-owned utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), owner of this project and the company that is responsible for distributing electricity to the nation's 255 million people, said it is scheduled to tender this mega-project in June 2016. Indonesia's electrification ratio (the percentage of Indonesian households that are connected to the nation's electricity grid) is low at around 82 percent, implying there are still dozens of millions of Indonesians who lack access to electricity.

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Subscribers may have noticed that over the past couple of months, perhaps even the past half year, we devoted one article per month to the topic of renewable energy. And, it is a combination of factors that motivates this decision.

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The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has a wide range of economic and social consequences. For example, the Indonesian economy is likely to contract this year (for the first time since 1998), while millions of Indonesians have lost their jobs over the past three months, and the majority of the country’s enterprises have seen their sales plunge.

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On Sunday 4 August 2019 and Monday 5 August 2019 the capital city of Jakarta, a large part of West Java, and parts of Central Java were without electricity. On Sunday the power outage lasted from around noon to 21:00 pm, an unusually long period, while the following day the outage lasted for approximately six hours (depending on the exact location); also an unusually long period albeit not as long as on the preceding day.

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Based on the latest reports - and contrary to earlier plans - the Indonesian government will not postpone the development of 15,200 MW of power projects. Earlier the government said it wanted to delay various power projects in an effort to curtail imports, thus improve the country's current account balance and ease heavy pressures on the rupiah exchange rate.

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As Indonesia is increasingly focusing on renewable energy sources, the potential of geothermal power in Indonesia is usually in the spotlight. However, the potential of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is seldom mentioned, while it is estimated that Indonesia's OTEC potential is around 41,000 megawatt (MW), among the biggest worldwide.

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) said it carefully monitors the impact of higher electricity tariffs on the nation's inflation pace in March 2017. This month the government implemented the second phase of its gradual electricity tariff increase program for 900-VA household customers. Indonesia's state-owned electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) decided to raise the electricity price for 900-VA households three times this year in order to cut energy subsidies and ensure that these subsidies are indeed channeled to the right people.

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Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla has high hopes for the development of renewable energy, such as geothermal energy, in Indonesia. Given that fossil fuels are exhaustive and dirty, clean and renewable energy sources are the future. Therefore, Indonesia should make more use of its huge geothermal energy potential. Southeast Asia's largest economy is estimated to contain 40 percent of the world's total geothermal reserves. However, it only utilizes 5 percent of its geothermal energy capacity.

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) expects to see deflation in April 2016 on the back of controlled food prices as the harvest season has arrived. Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo said a central bank survey shows deflation of 0.33 percent month-to-month (m/m) during the first three weeks of April. Besides lower food prices, Martowardojo also attributes April deflation to the government's decision to cut fuel prices (premium gasoline and diesel) by IDR 500 (approx. USD $0.04) per liter per 1 April. This move led to a 4 percent drop in public transportation tariffs.

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Elnusa is an Indonesian company that provides services in the upstream oil & gas sector. Although the oil & gas sector has been plagued by low prices, thus curtailing corporate earnings, there is something that makes Elnusa's position strong. Recently, Elnusa purchased a seismic vessel that can be used for marine seismic surveys for oil & gas exploration. In Indonesia only a few companies have the skills and equipment for marine seismic activities (and only a few companies have a seismic vessel). Moreover, Elnusa's new vessel is a modern one that is equipped to conduct high quality surveys in deep sea.

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According to the Association of Indonesian Processing and Refining Companies (AP3I), consumption of mineral ores in Indonesia will be solid starting from 2017 due to the start of operations of new smelters. Jonathan Handojo, Vice Chairman of the AP3I, says domestic consumption of nickel ore will reach 7 million tons in 2017, roughly the same amount of nickel ore that was exported in 2009 before the New Mining Law - which stipulates a ban on exports of mineral ore from Indonesia (per January 2014) - was revealed.

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