Geothermal Bill Step Closer to Law

Jakarta Globe, Tito Summa Siahaan, October 22, 2013

Trucks at Patuha Geothermal plant in Bandung, West Java. Indonesia holds
40 percent of world’s geothermal potential. (JG Photo/Reza Estily)

A special committee at the House of Representatives approved on Monday the geothermal bill proposed by the government, which would make it a step closer to becoming law, as the nation seeks to wean itself from reliance on fossil fuel to produce electricity.

All of the nine factions in the committee supported the bill, and all of the speakers highlighted the country’s enormous geothermal potential, the need to attract investment, and the inadequacy of the current geothermal law.

Should the bill become law, it will replace the existing law on geothermal issued in 2003.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said the aim of the bill is to optimize the country’s geothermal potential.

“Indonesia holds 40 percent of the world’s geothermal potential, or 28,617 megawatts, but only 1,341 megawatts, or 4.6 percent of that amount had been harnessed,” he said.

Jero said that one of the key points in the proposed bill is the removal of the words “mining activities” in the definition of geothermal activities. Inclusion of such wording could create unnecessary complication in the exploitation of geothermal energy.

Another law bans any form of “mining activities” to be performed in areas of conservation, according to the minister.

“Most of our geothermal potential is located within conservation areas,” Jero said.

Such overlapping policies in Indonesia have, in many cases, created disadvantages for investors — especially among international investors that want to invest in the country’s energy business.

Aside from that, regulation on conservation areas had been widely blamed as the main reason as to why development of many geothermal projects has stalled.

Ali Kasela, a lawmaker for People’s Conscience Party (Hanura), said that his party supported the bill as it would bring more benefits from geothermal energy to regional development.

Jero said that the problem is rooted in the misunderstanding of the impact of geothermal projects.

“Unlike mining operations, a geothermal power plant takes only little space within a protected forested area,” Jero said.

State utility firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara estimated that Indonesia would need at least $77.3 billion in new investment to produce 13,000 megawatts of renewable energy, including geothermal, to the country’s electricity grid until 2021.

Tisnaldi, the director for geothermal at the Energy Ministry, said that another highlight in the proposed bill is the obligation for geothermal concession holders to sell a 10 percent interest to regionally owned enterprises or state-owned enterprises after it enters the exploitation stage.

“It aims to share the benefits of the geothermal project to local governments,” Trisnaldi said.

Jero said that the government is also looking to use geothermal to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel and help the objective in carbon emission reduction.

Milton Pakpahan, the chairman of the special committee, said that the bill is scheduled to be approved by the House plenary meeting in April 2014.

The National Energy Council (DEN) forecast early this year that the country may not achieve its target to have a more balanced energy mix by 2025, which is designed to reduce the country’s oil consumption and carbon emissions.

Based on the council’s projections, Indonesia’s energy consumption in 2025 would be made up of 23.9 percent oil, 19.7 percent natural gas, 30.7 percent coal and 25.7 percent renewables.

In 2010, the country’s energy mix was 49.8 percent oil, 24.5 percent coal, 20 percent gas and 5.7 percent renewables.

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The Future of Sustainable Energy in a Growing Asia Pacific Is a Common, Very Necessary Goal

The Future of Sustainable Energy in a Growing Asia Pacific Is a Common, Very Necessary Goal

Jakarta Globe, Noeleen Heyzer, October 18, 2013

Indonesia has only exploited around five percent of its world-leading
geothermal potential (JG Photo/Rezza Estily)

The world is at a critical juncture, with energy consumption rising dramatically. Even allowing for the positive impacts of the policy commitments and plans announced by countries to address global climate change, total primary energy demand in Asia and the Pacific alone is expected to nearly double between 2010 and 2030.

How will the Asia Pacific region meet this demand? How will we grow in a sustainable way that is both equitable and efficient? How can universal energy access be achieved?

These are some of the key questions being addressed at the 22nd World Energy Congress in Daegu, South Korea, which begins on Sunday.

The world faces two main energy challenges: providing enough light, warmth and power for every household — and at the same time shifting to cleaner energy sources to protect our increasingly fragile natural environment.

Just over a year ago, at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, 191 member states and observers recognized the critical role that energy plays in development.

This is why the UN General Assembly declared 2014-2024 the “Decade of Sustainable Energy for All” and why UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched his “Sustainable Energy for All” initiative in 2011, focusing on three major goals: improving energy access, energy efficiency and the share of renewable sources in our energy mix. Ensuring sustainable energy for all is additionally challenging in Asia and the Pacific.

Despite great progress in improving peoples’ lives, the Asia Pacific region still has 628 million people without access to electricity and 1.8 billion who still use traditional fuels such as wood, charcoal, agricultural residue and animal waste.

Widespread energy poverty condemns billions to darkness, ill health and missed opportunities: children cannot study at night, clinics and hospitals cannot offer quality health care and many people cannot make use of the opportunities and information accessible through modern technology.

We must end this inequality, but we need to do so in a way that is intelligent and sustainable, utilizing natural resources while preserving the integrity of the ecosystems on which we depend.

In addition to the hundreds of millions without access to modern energy services, the Asia Pacific region also has some of the highest levels of carbon intensity. Our primary energy intensity is among the highest in the world, despite rapid and significant reductions in recent decades. This limits long-term national and regional competitiveness, jeopardizing employment opportunities and income levels.

The Asia Pacific region has some of the largest exporters and importers of fossil fuels, as well as the highest rates of fossil fuel subsidies. Worldwide, these subsidies were six times greater than the financial support for renewable energy.

The increasing dependency on fossil fuel imports in both the largest economies and the most vulnerable small island states exposes our region to the risks of oil price volatility and the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events.

Rebalancing our mix is therefore critical. The countries in our region have some of the fastest growing rates of investment in and added capacity for renewable energy, taking advantage of our ample supplies of solar, hydroelectric, wind, biomass, geothermal and ocean energies.

Still, the current energy mix remains mostly fossil fuel-based — especially coal — with renewable resources, including hydro, accounting for only 16 per cent of total electricity production.

These additional challenges are why a comprehensive, long-term understanding of “enhanced energy security” is evolving in the Asia Pacific region. This concept moves beyond calculations of supply and demand alone towards a holistic consideration of multiple aspects, including access, efficiency, renewables, environment, economics, trade and investment and, last but not least, connectivity.

As early as 2008, member states of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap) were developing a regional framework to address these challenges, passing a resolution at the its annual session on promoting renewables for energy security and sustainable development.

In a lecture last year to the Energy Market Authority in Singapore, I also proposed that the region should explore the creation of a game-changing Asian Energy Highway — an integrated regional “smart grid.”

These discussions culminated in May, when Escap organized the Asian and Pacific Energy Forum, the first conference of energy ministers held under the auspices of the UN in the region.

Hosted by the Russian Federation, 34 countries met in Vladivostok and adopted a groundbreaking framework — a Ministerial Declaration and five-year plan of action on regional cooperation for enhanced energy security and the sustainable use of energy.

One key area of action is to develop common infrastructure and to promote energy policies that accelerate regional economic integration.

Energy connectivity is not something new here. The Asean Power Grid (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the SAME or Saarc Market for Electricity (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and the GMS Power Market (Greater Mekong Subregion), are key instances of initiatives that could be linked and expanded under a common goal.

The lesson of these initiatives is that regional cooperation works best when it is based on a unified vision.

As evidenced by the Asia Pacific countries in Vladivostok, our region is committed to shaping the regional energy future we want: one of equity, efficiency and resilience, to benefit our people and our planet.

Noeleen Heyzer is the under secretary general of the United Nations, executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and special adviser of the UN secretary general for East Timor.

A solar investment in California’s Imperial Valley: Google

Google Green Blog, 10/10/13

We’re celebrating Halloween early with our “lucky thirteenth” renewable energy investment: a $103 million commitment to Mount Signal Solar, a 265.7 MW solar photovoltaic plant in Imperial County, CA. The project will generate enough energy to power 80,000 homes.

Like many states, California has a goal of increasing the amount of energy procured from renewable sources. The energy from Mount Signal Solar, which has been contracted to San Diego Gas & Electric, will help California meet this goal. The project, which is owned and operated by Silver Ridge Power (formerly AES Solar), will also create over 900 construction jobs in a part of the state that suffers from high unemployment.

Thirteen renewable energy investments in three years! That’s a lot of energy—the over $1 billion we’ve committed to these projects will generate enough electricity each year to power more than 500,000 U.S. homes. Why are we making these investments? It’s simple: we believe in a clean energy future, and we think that companies like ours can help make it happen. We invest in these projects because they make business sense, because they help put more renewable energy on the grid, and because they have a positive impact on the local economies where they operate.

The Mount Signal Solar project in Imperial County, CA

 Posted by Kojo Ako-Asare, Head of Corporate Finance

Joko Wants Solar Panels for Jakarta Low-Cost Apartments

Jakarta Globe, SP/Deti Mega P. on 5:06 pm October 8, 2013

People walk across a yard inside the Pinus Elok low-cost apartment
complex in East Jakarta on Sept. 30, 2013. (JG Photo/Safir Makki)

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo said on Tuesday that he wanted to install solar panels on the 100 low-cost apartment towers that his administration planned to construct next year.

“I think we need to apply an environmentally friendly concept for next year’s low-cost apartment construction,” Joko said on the sidelines of a visit to electronics manufacturer Panasonic Gobel’s plant in East Jakarta. “So solar panels should be installed on all the low-cost apartments that will be built next year.”

Joko said he was aware that solar panels would boost the upfront construction cost, but emphasized the savings that would be made over the longer term.

Yonathan Pasodung, the head of Jakarta Housing and Building Agency, said last month the Jakarta administration was ready to build 100 low-cost apartment towers next year in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Housing.

Each tower would consist of six floors and was planned to host 100 apartment units, with construction cost set at between Rp 20 billion ($1.7 million) and Rp 22 billion per tower.

The towers will be built across five Jakarta municipalities and offered for rent at Rp 150,000 per month per unit to low-income residents.

“That will include those displaced by [Jakarta's] river normalization project,” Yonathan said, according to Indonesian news portal tempo.co.

He added the towers would use precast concrete to make them more resistant to earthquakes.

Australian building giant in graft scandal

Google – AFP, 3 October 2013

Australian construction giant Leighton Holdings is at the centre of a

 corruption scandal with allegations of bribery among senior executives 

(AFP/File, Greg Wood)

Sydney — Australian construction giant Leighton Holdings, which operates in more than 20 countries, said Thursday it was "deeply concerned" by allegations of bribery and widespread corruption within the company.

A six-month investigation by Fairfax Media, which obtained hundreds of confidential company documents, exposed what it said were "plans to pay alleged multi-million dollar kickbacks in Iraq, Indonesia, Malaysia and elsewhere, along with other serious corporate misconduct".

In one case, it alleged, former chief executive Wal King approved a Aus$42 million (US$39 million) bribe to a firm in Monaco nominated by Iraqi officials who gave Leighton an Aus$750 million oil pipeline contract.

Fairfax cited a memo written on November 23, 2010 by then-acting chief executive David Stewart, in which Leighton International managing director David Savage had revealed he and King knew of the massive kickback.

"I asked did Wal K approve this? And he said 'yes'," the memo reportedly said.

King, who was the company's chief executive for 23 years before retiring in late 2010, refuted the allegations.

"Well, I deny the allegations that I had any prior knowledge of circumstances in Iraq. I've never visited Iraq," he told ABC radio, adding that he could not comment further because he was bound by confidentiality agreements with Leighton.

Leighton is a US$7 billion company active around the world in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources and environmental services industries.

The revelations hit its share price hard, with the stock down more than 10 percent in late afternoon trade at Aus$17.60.

In a three-page statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Leighton said it "takes these accusations seriously and is deeply concerned about the suggestions of impropriety", but added that the allegations were "exceptional instances".

It said that in 2011 Leighton voluntarily reported to Australian police a possible breach of its code of ethics relating to accusations of bribery in Iraq, and this was still under investigation.

"We are not aware of any new allegations or instances of breach of our ethics," it said.

The statement added that a senior executive was dismissed in 2012 and "over recent years, Leighton Holdings has continued to strengthen and improve its corporate governance and risk management processes".

"The directors of Leighton's subsidiary companies and of Leighton Holdings are aware of their responsibilities and have at all times executed their duties with the appropriate care and diligence, and in the best interests of each relevant company," it added.

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