Indonesia Prioritizes Geothermal Energy Usage

KUTA, KOMPAS.com - The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) said the use of geothermal energy currently tops the list of government’s priorities in developing new energy in the country because of its huge potentials.

"We predict geothermal potentials in the country to reach 26,000 megawatts," BPPT Deputy Chief for Information Technology, Energy and Materials Unggul Priyanto said on the sidelines of an international congress on ocean energy and deep ocean water application (DOWA) here on Thursday.

Only small part or 1,200 megawatts of the geothermal potentials had been utilized, he said. In view of the untapped huge geothermal potentials, he said the government had decided to prioritize the use of the new energy.

"Indonesia has the largest geothermal deposits in the world. Therefore, many European countries want to utilize it," he said. From the economic and technological standpoint, geothermal energy was cheaper than any other types of new energy.

"The investment and production cost of geothermal power plant are also lower than those of power plants using marine potentials," he said. The construction of a geothermal power plant with a capacity of 1 kilo watt would only cost US$2,000.