The Ministry Of Energy And Mineral Resources Has Pledged That Domestic Geothermal Project Permits Will Require Only Five Days For Approval

ANTARA FOTO/ADENG BUSTOMI

The Ministry Of Energy And Mineral Resources Has Pledged That Domestic Geothermal Project Permits Will Require Only Five Days For Approval

Friday, 22 Nov 2024

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has committed to reducing the approval time for geothermal project business licenses from the previous duration of 18 months to just 5 days.

Eniya Listiani Dewi, the Director General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) at the ESDM, stated that they are currently awaiting amendments to the Ministerial Regulation (Permen) from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (LHK).

"We are just waiting for the changes in the LHK Ministerial Regulation. The Government Regulation from 2021 regarding risk-based business licensing has already been discussed and is in order," Eniya remarked during an interview with Kontan following the ESG Symposium 2024 in Jakarta on Tuesday, November 19.

Eniya further noted that the official announcement regarding this reduction in approval time is expected to be made in a few months, especially considering President Prabowo's emphasis on enhancing energy production from the geothermal sector.

"This will be released soon, I believe in a few months. The President has consistently mentioned geothermal energy," she added.

Specifically, this reduction in processing time will apply to licensing applications submitted through the Online Single Submission (OSS) system, which will streamline the initial requirements for Spatial Utilization Activity Compliance (KKPR) and environmental impact assessments (amdal).

"Often, the KKPR, which is determined by the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning (ATR/BPN), causes delays. This pertains to area approvals. We need that license, along with the amdal. We will eliminate these requirements at the outset," she explained.

Previously, Eniya indicated that the entire process from obtaining a license to the exploration phase typically took at least 7 years, with 5 years allocated for surveys and exploration, which could be extended twice, each extension lasting 1 year.

"My target is to reduce this 7-year timeline to 3 years. So, we will conduct surveys for 1 year, followed by 2 years of drilling to identify suitable locations, provided there are no social issues," she stated. Additionally, Eniya mentioned that the government plans to increase the Return on Investment (ROI) by 1.5% in the geothermal sector.