House Supports W Sumatra To Become Green Energy Barn

Padang, (Antaranews Sumbar) - The House of Representatives`Commission VII supports West Sumatra to become a green energy barn in the island of Sumatra. House Commission VII Chairman Gus Irawan Pasaribu remarked here on Monday that West Sumatra has enormous potential to produce green energy or new and renewable energy from hydropower and geothermal sources. "This immense potential of new and renewable energy in West Sumatra should not be wasted, but it must be utilized maximally," Pasaribu noted during a work visit to the province on Monday. He stated that the House`s Commission VII will guard the government`s policy for the development of new and renewable energy, including in West Sumatra, in order to meet the electricity demand of the province. West Sumatra has some 25 large and medium rivers and hundreds of small rivers that can be utilized to generate hydropower and 16 geothermal hotspots. However, of all the potential, only some 40 percent has been tapped, and more than 2,400 megawatts is still unutilized. West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno explained that the obstacle is the relatively higher cost to develop the renewable energy potential as compared to that of the energy produced from fossil fuels, especially coal. Hence, electricity companies prefer to produce steam power from coal rather than energy from geothermal. (*) Editor: Vicha Faradika