Indonesia:

Geothermal: A Potential Tectonic Shift in Indonesian Energy Production (cogitASIA)

The Kamojang Geothermal Power Plant in West Java.
(Courtesy Sangap Yohanes Berutu)

For years observers have decried that Indonesia possesses 40 percent of the world’s potential geothermal reserves but utilizes only 5 percent of that renewable energy potential. With domestic energy demand increasing rapidly and a new reform-oriented administration in power, Indonesia may finally have the pieces coming together to take its rightful place as a geothermal powerhouse.

Most estimates put Indonesia’s potential geothermal reserves at 28,000 megawatts. As an energy source geothermal is very clean, emitting a fraction of the carbon produced by fossil fuel driven plants. Geothermal is also a reliable energy source, capable of running 24 hours a day every day with no reliance on volatile markets or unpredictable weather events.

While initial costs are high—drilling just one geothermal well can cost $8-9 million and constructing a geothermal plant can take more than five years—variable costs, including maintenance, are very low. Overall the average cost of electricity from a geothermal plant over the course of its lifetime is half of that from a conventional coal plant and 28 percent lower than from a natural gas fired plant.

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