TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry for Energy and Mineral Resources has chosen Bali to be the centre for the development of clean energy in Indonesia, officials said on Thursday, October 8.

"We plan to meet the majority of Bali's energy needs through environmentally friendly means," said Indonesia's Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, Sudirman Said after signing an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Jakarta on Thursday.

Bali is chosen as the home of the pilot project due to its' geographical size and infrastructure, which is conducive for the development of a clean energy research centre.

"In three years time, Bali would be the first province that could produce its' own clean energy, with minimal emissions," said Said, who said that similar projects will be focused in Eastern Indonesia, due to the spatial requirements of such facilities.

"We also want to focus on Eastern Indonesia to educate people that there are other, cleaner sources of energy - such as natural gases. The proper socialisation will benefit everyone, especially when the gas distribution begins to penetrate those areas," said Said.

The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources signed an MoU with the ADB to facilitate the development of a clean energy research centre in Indonesia. "This is done to ensure that we can commit to increasing the utilisation rate of renewable energy to 25 percent by 2025," continued Said.

The MoU includes a loan amounting to US$6billion, as well as an unspecified amount of grants, and the agreement is renewable after four years.

"We hope that this could become an incentive for foreign investors to start looking into Indonesia's potential to support the increased use of renewable energy," he finished.

ANTARA