November 1, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led First Gen Corp. is powering deeper into Indonesia’s geothermal market after sealing its joint venture with Jakarta-based PT Dian Swastatika Sentosa (DSSA).
This comes after PT FirstGen Geothermal Indonesia, a company under First Gen subsidiary Energy Development Corp. (EDC), signed a shareholders’ agreement with DSSA unit PT DSSR Daya Mas Sakti.
The deal outlines the terms of the partnership agreement signed in August for the planned development and management of geothermal resources with a total potential capacity of 440 megawatts (MW).
This covers six strategic geothermal fields across West Java, Flores, Jambi, West Sumatra and Central Sulawesi.
EDC president and COO Jerome Cainglet said exploration drilling at several sites is expected to begin next year.
“The Philippines and Indonesia are the key markets that we are focused on at the moment. We are bringing close to 50 years of geothermal experience and expertise to Indonesia,” Cainglet said.
Indonesia is the world’s second-largest geothermal producer, holding around 40 percent of global geothermal reserves.
The Southeast Asian country has an estimated geothermal potential of about 24 gigawatts, with only around 10 percent of this having been developed so far.
“We know that there is also a lot that we can learn there, which we may use in the Philippines as we continue to expand our geothermal base in the country in full support of the Department of Energy’s call for more geothermal development here,” Cainglet said.
In the Philippines, EDC is the leading geothermal player, operating at least 13 facilities with a combined capacity of about 1,200 MW. This represents around 56 percent of the country’s total installed output.
First Gen president and COO Francis Giles Puno earlier said an initial capital of up to $80 million would be used for the group’s expansion in Indonesia.
Puno was also expecting the joint venture with DSSA to be “formidable” in developing geothermal resources.
DSSA is part of the Sinar Mas Group, one of Indonesia’s largest and most diversified conglomerates.
