Indonesia’s geothermal fertiliser project wins ASEAN award
Picture: PGE awarded the Winner of the ASEAN Renewable Energy Project Awards (source: PGE)
Alexander Richter
13 Nov 2025
PGE’s GeO-Fert programme in Kamojang wins ASEAN award for converting organic waste into fertiliser using geothermal heat, cutting emissions and supporting farmers.
The Geothermal Organic Fertilizer initiative, known as GeO-Fert, developed by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy Tbk (PGE) in the Kamojang area, was named Winner of the ASEAN Renewable Energy Project Awards in the Off Grid Thermal category. The award was presented by Malaysia’s Ministry of Power and Water Transformation during a ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center on 16 October 2025.
GeO-Fert uses geothermal steam at 60–70°C from the Kamojang Geothermal Power Plant to convert agricultural and household waste into solid and liquid organic fertiliser. The process shortens drying time from more than two days to around twelve hours, yielding a seventy to seventy-five percent efficiency improvement over traditional methods.
Turning waste into value for farming communities
Since its launch, the programme has processed 57.6 tonnes of organic waste each year into 28.8 tonnes of organic fertiliser. The initiative has reduced carbon emissions by 24,783 tonnes of CO? equivalent per year and prevented the use of 0.085 ktoe of fossil fuel annually.
The programme is managed by 51 farmers in the Cikondang Block Forest Farmers Group and 32 members of the Mekarsari Women Farmers Group, reaching 163 direct beneficiaries and more than 650 indirect beneficiaries. With ongoing training, farmers have reduced fertiliser purchasing costs by up to IDR 26 million per year while boosting yields of vegetables and coffee by fifty to seventy-five percent.
“Through innovations like GeO-Fert, PGE Area Kamojang demonstrates how geothermal energy can help local communities, support sustainable agriculture, and preserve the environment,” said PGE Kamojang General Manager I Made Budi Kusuma Adi Putra.
Strengthening food security in a key agricultural region
The Kamojang geothermal field, with an installed capacity of 235 MW, is located in one of West Java’s major farming centres where eighty-five percent of residents depend on the agricultural sector. Limited access to subsidised fertiliser and the rising cost of chemical inputs have long posed challenges for farmers in the region.
With GeO-Fert, geothermal energy supports a circular resource model that reduces waste, improves soil health, and lowers production costs. The initiative also shows how geothermal operations can create shared value beyond power generation.
Source: SWA.co.id
