Barito geothermal power plant portfolio: long-running clean energy backbone

Responsible: ad hoc news Classics & Long-sellers Desk. Reviewed prior to publication on June 13, 2026 at 8:10:04 AM ET. Details in the imprint.

Barito Pacific’s geothermal power plant portfolio, anchored by long-running assets such as the Salak and Darajat fields in West Java, sits at the core of the group’s established clean-energy business. Public filings describe these plants, operated via the Star Energy group, as some of Indonesia’s older but still critical geothermal facilities that deliver stable baseload electricity into the grid. For U.S.-based investors and energy watchers, these units offer a window into how Barito has built a durable, cash-generating infrastructure asset base around geothermal power rather than short-lived consumer products.

What Barito’s geothermal plants do and why they matter

Through subsidiaries grouped under Star Energy, Barito controls majority stakes in geothermal power operations at Salak, Darajat and Wayang Windu, all located in West Java and acquired from Chevron’s Indonesian portfolio in 2017. Company disclosures state that these fields are developed under long-term geothermal working area licenses and power purchase agreements, selling electricity to Indonesia’s state utility PLN, which effectively makes the plants regulated infrastructure assets with contracted offtake. Because geothermal power plants deliver continuous baseload power rather than intermittent output, these facilities help stabilize Indonesia’s grid as the country gradually increases its share of renewables.

While exact unit-by-unit capacity figures vary across sources, Star Energy’s own materials describe a combined installed capacity of several hundred megawatts across Salak, Darajat and Wayang Windu, positioning the group among Indonesia’s larger private geothermal operators. Geothermal reservoirs in these fields rely on steam and hot water extracted from deep underground wells, which drive steam turbines connected to generators; heat is replenished naturally over time, allowing long asset lives when the reservoirs are properly managed. Barito highlights in its sustainability reporting that geothermal generation produces very low direct greenhouse-gas emissions compared to coal-fired power plants, in line with Indonesia’s climate and energy-transition goals.

These assets are not new launches but mature, long-serving power plants that have been in commercial operation for many years, long before Barito consolidated them under the Star Energy banner. The company’s annual reports describe ongoing investments in well workovers, make-up drilling and plant maintenance to preserve reservoir productivity and extend operating life. Unlike solar farms that can be replicated quickly, geothermal projects require extensive exploration, drilling and reservoir characterization, meaning Salak and Darajat represent scarce, hard-to-replace assets in Indonesia’s energy system. That scarcity value helps explain why Barito continues to emphasize geothermal power in its long-term strategy.

From a revenue perspective, Barito divides its business into petrochemicals, energy and other segments, with geothermal power falling under its energy division. The company notes that energy earnings are supported by long-term offtake contracts and relatively predictable cash flows, as electricity sales are underpinned by capacity-based payments in addition to energy charges. This structure can partially shield the geothermal plants from short-term commodity price swings that affect petrochemical operations, making the power assets a stabilizing pillar in Barito’s broader portfolio. U.S. observers looking at the company’s fundamentals often pay attention to the performance of these contracted geothermal units as a counterbalance to more cyclical businesses.

In addition to core power generation, Barito and Star Energy describe various environmental and community programs around the geothermal sites, including reforestation, biodiversity monitoring and local community development initiatives. Such programs are highlighted in the group’s sustainability and ESG communications, reflecting both Indonesian regulatory expectations and international investor scrutiny around the social and environmental footprint of large infrastructure projects. While these projects are presented as part of the corporate-responsibility agenda rather than direct revenue drivers, they illustrate how the long-running geothermal plants are embedded in their local communities.

For U.S. markets, these specific power plants do not sell electricity directly into the U.S. grid, but they matter to U.S.-based investors who may hold Barito securities or thematic funds exposed to Southeast Asian energy infrastructure. Analysts interested in renewable infrastructure in emerging markets often compare Barito’s geothermal portfolio with similar assets in the Philippines, Kenya or Latin America, focusing on contract structures, reservoir risk and regulatory frameworks. From that standpoint, Salak and Darajat function as seasoned case studies for how geothermal baseload can be integrated into a developing country’s power mix with private capital participation.

For now, Barito positions geothermal power as a strategic long-term platform: a combination of established plants like Salak and Darajat and potential new developments in other geothermal working areas mentioned in its strategic updates. How aggressively the company pursues additional drilling campaigns or new fields depends on regulatory incentives, tariff negotiations and capital availability, but the existing long-running plants are already central to the group’s identity as an energy-transition player rather than a purely petrochemical group. Shares of PT Barito Pacific Tbk (ID1000096209) are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange; there is no primary listing on NYSE or Nasdaq as of the latest public information.

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