TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said 15 investors have stated their interested in developing biogas and biomass power plants in some areas in Indonesia. However, these potential investors are still considering the amount of power generation capacity.

"Many are willing to develop. But since the locations are in the middle of a forest, it is a bit far to connect the transmission cables with PT PLN (Persero)," said Rida Mulyana, the ministry's director general of renewable energy and energy conservation.

Potential investors began showing interest after the government issued the Energy Minister Regulation on purchasing power from biomass power plant and biogas power plant by PT PLN (Persero) in October. The rule raises biomass electricity prices to Rp1,150 per kWh if connected to a medium voltage network and Rp1,500 per kWh for low voltage network.

According to Rida, investors are looking into potential areas like Jambi, East Kalimantan, Bangka-Belitung, South Sulawesi, Gorontalo, Bali and East Java. Sumatera becomes the ministry's focus in developing bioenergy plants due to the island's vast palm oil plantation area.

The potential for biomass and biogas energy in Sumatera is estimated to reach 15 Giga watts, with half of them sourced from palm oil biomass.

KHAIRUL ANAM