The PLN Geothermal Field Trip Excursion was held over five days, from March 6 to March 10, 2023. The locations included the Exploration Room at the Energy Building, 2nd floor, Tangkuban Perahu, and the Patuha Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) operated by Geo Dipa Energi. The program ran daily from 08:00 to 17:00, except for the final day, which ended at 12:00. The event was officially opened on Monday, March 6, 2023, by representatives from ITB and PT PLN.

The five-day excursion featured five main agendas. The first day covered an overview of the activities, initial materials, and group assignments. The second day involved observing a non-operational geothermal system at Tangkuban Perahu. On the third day, participants visited the operational geothermal facility at PLTP Patuha. The fourth day was dedicated to discussions and presentations by participants on the activities. The final day featured cultural activities in Bandung.

The excursion’s speakers included ITB Geothermal Engineering Master’s Program lecturers, assisted by students from ITB’s Geothermal Engineering program.

The PLN Geothermal Field Trip Excursion was attended by 20 participants, consisting of five (5) individuals from PLN Headquarters, two (2) from PLN Training Center, one (1) from PLN Unit Banten, six (6) from PLN South Sumatra Unit, one (1) from PLN North Sumatra Unit, one (1) from PLN East Java and Bali Unit, one (1) from PLN West Kalimantan Unit, two (2) from PLN Maluku and Papua Unit, one (1) from PLN Central Sumatra Unit, and two (2) from PLN Gas and Geothermal. Several participants actively engaged in each teaching topic, including lecture sessions, field practices, discussions, and group assignments.

During the event, participants were divided into four (4) groups, with each group consisting of four to five members. Each group was tasked with discussing and presenting their insights from the observations at Tangkuban Perahu and the visit to the Patuha Geothermal Power Plant. The excursion concluded with a closing ceremony by ITB on Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 17:00.

The event was led by Dr. Eng. Ir. Suryantini S.T., Dipl. Geoth. En. Tech., M.Sc., Ir. Nenny Miryani Saptadji, Ph.D., and the ITB Geothermal team. Below are some documentations from the PLN Geothermal Field Trip Excursion:

Overall, the PLN Geothermal Field Trip Excursion was highly successful. However, like any program, there are areas for improvement based on evaluations, including:

1. The time allocated for some topics was too short, particularly for subjects requiring detailed explanation.
2. Additional lesson-learned materials from other field developments would enhance participants’ understanding.
3. Feedback from the questionnaire suggested several advanced topics for future sessions.

To address these points, the following recommendations are proposed:

1. Given the diverse academic backgrounds of participants, comprehensive geothermal training over an extended period is necessary. A series of specialized trainings on various geothermal topics could be beneficial.
2. To deepen understanding of geothermal systems, particularly water-dominated systems like those in PLN’s future projects, field observations at similar geothermal plants, such as PLTP Dieng, PLTP Salak, PLTP Muara Laboh, and PLTP Sarulla, are recommended.
3. Participants suggested additional topics, including reserve estimation exercises, drilling, well targeting, geophysical surveys (Magnetotelluric, Micro Earthquake, Gravity), geochemical sampling, geothermal HSE (K3LL), feasibility study documentation training, introduction to geothermal business stages, and visits to other geothermal manifestations (Kawah Ijen, Papandayan, Kawah Rengganis, Sikidang, etc.).