Geothermal Power: The Best Alternative Energy Solution?

As economies develop in Indonesia and the Phillippines, and an energy crisis becomes more evident, the countries are literally digging deep for a solution.Both countries are part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area with a large amount of volcanic activity. With over 500 volcanoes and approximately 130 known active ones, experts see this area as having great potential for the harnessing and usage of geothermal power.

Some experts claim Indonesia could run its economy entirely on geothermal energy, and that it has not begun to realize the potential for doing so. Unlocking the potential does have its difficulties, but as infrastructure issues reach for solutions and oil prices continue to rise more efforts are being made.

A project in Indonesia, the Bedugul project, is tapping power near volcanoes in Bali. The project is attempting to develop up 175MW of power, which would power somewhere around half of the power needs for the island. The project is however on hold for the time being due to a possibility of damage to a sacred area and potential negative effects on water supply. Ni Made Widiasari of Bali Energy denies the project would have damaging effects. Currently, most of Bali’s power comes from another island nearly through a cable running under the sea. This may not be a sufficient supply in the near future as the tourist area shows a growing demand for power.

Some obstacles are affecting other potential new projects in any location. A fairly extensive amount of drilling is involved to drill deep enough in the earth to reach hot water or steam so that turbines can be powered. This of course takes investment and resources. Furthermore, the legal formalities needed to organize and carry out these projects is also hindering progress. Active volcanoes are associated with high acidity, as thus cause the corrosion of pipes involved in geothermal power projects.

Electrical power is under strain in the Phillipines and Indonesia. Phillipine demand is growing fast, and Indonesia has had blackouts in times of high demand. Indonesia is only tapping 850MW of an estimated 27,000MW potential of geothermal power.

Despite this, the government is pushing for more coal-powered plants to meet energy needs. However, Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro stated energy from geothermal projects could reach 9,500MW by 2025.

Firms in Indonesia such as Star Energy and Medco Energi Internasional are considering making investments. The largest private producer of geothermal energy in the world, Chevron, has plans to double Indonesian and Phillipine geothermal business by 2020. Chevron makes this estimation despite capital issues and conflicts.

Although drilling and plant construction, not to mention exploration, costs are high in comparison to other alternatives, the maintenance and operation costs of a geothermal plant are significantly lower in comparison. Typically it takes 7 to 8 years for a geothermal project to go from an exploration to production stage. Road costs to remote areas are also a factor. Carbon credit eligibility would make investments in these projects more likely, as well as help with some of the initial project cost.

As member of the Earth Policy Institute says on geothermal power  “…geothermal is going to loom large in the energy economy of the future, and that development could come very quickly once the leadership begins to see the potential.”