Landowners of major government assets such as dams and power stations will be given prominence in the blueprint of the nations’ first ever geothermal energy policy.
This was announced by minister for Public Enterprise and State Investment Ben Micah upon his return from New Zealand.
“Land owners should be fairly compensated by the state for giving up their farm land for developing major state assets,” said Micah.
The Public Enterprise and State Investment Ministry will be working in partnership with the Mining and Geo Hazards Department to ensure PNG will have a defined and clear understanding of Geo Thermal.
The Minister said it was a shame that the New Zealand Maoris own just five percent of the land in New Zealand but receive close to eighty five percent of the benefits generated from the hydro power stations.
However in PNG, over ninety five percent of the land is traditionally owed but in most cases, the landowners do not benefit directly from the government-established assets in their area.
Micah explained that Geothermal was classified by the mining sector as a mineral. He said PNG has a geothermal energy potential of five to six thousand megawatts and a hydro potential of fifteen thousand megawatts.
With this potential to produce electricity, the country needs a proper blueprint to guide the development of geothermal.
The minister did not specify on how soon the blueprint will be ready, but promised to do so while serving as minister responsible.
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