RI LACKS FUNDS TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

Bandung, W Java, June 18 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is rich in potential alternative energy sources such as solar, hydro and geothermal but does not have enough funds to develop them to meet its energy needs, an energy official said.

"We have enough alternative energy potentials but we are constrained by the huge investment needed to develop them," Marwansyah Lobobalia, an expert adviser to the minister of energy and mineral resources, said on the sidelines of an energy conference here.

He said so far Indonesia had only utilized about four percent of the three energy potentials but in 2025 it was expected that the utilization of those energy types would reach 15 percent.

The investment needed to build a geothermal power plant with a 4-MW capacity over five years, for example, was five times the amount needed to build a thermal power plant.

Geothermal energy could become an alternative energy because it was quite environment friendly and produced very little dangerous emissions for the environment.

Marwansyah said the government was making efforts to develop alternative energy sources so that they could be utilized.

"At present energy sources such as electricity and fuel oils are being used inefficiently while finding alternatives is still difficult. So, we all have to carry out efficiency in order to save energy," he said.

He said that the government was still providing 30 percent subsidy for the electricity sector.