Japan, West looking to ride geothermal boom in Indonesia, Philippines (Nikkei Asian Review)
Development of geothermal power plants is picking up in Indonesia and the Philippines, providing opportunities for many Japanese and Western companies. Geothermal energy has few global titans, unlike fossil-fuel power, so Japanese and Western companies often partner with locals in various forms to take part in projects.
At the Sarulla Geothermal Power Plant under construction on northern Sumatra in Indonesia, a tower over 55 meters high has been built to capture water heated by magma underground. As drilling equipment makes a groaning noise while it digs to a depth of 2,000 meters, steam shoots up from a test well. A path for heavy equipment has been created by clearing the forest around the site.
The plant, which is to begin operations in November 2016, will be the world's largest. Its planned capacity of 330 MW is triple that of Japan's biggest geothermal plant, in Oita Prefecture. The price tag is estimated at more than 100 billion yen ($818 million).
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