World’s Largest Geothermal Energy Potential
May 2, 2010 2 Comments
Visit any of Indonesia’s islands, and chances are a day trip to one of this massive archipelago’s volcanoes will be on your itinerary. Many of them are still active, beguiling you with their surreal landscapes, with guides enticing you to smear the steamy, grey volcanic mud on your face for a quick facial. Eventually the smell of the sulfur will lead you to hike back down the mountain or to run back to your tourist bus. But there is more than the “wow” factor: the Indonesian government recently announced plans to develop 4000 megawatts of geothermal energy from its volcanoes by 2014.
While the chattering classes debate China’s and India’s future impact on the earth’s energy supply, Indonesia is a sleeping giant that is slowly emerging on the world’s economic scene. After years of sluggish growth and corruption under Suharto’s regime, Indonesia is reducing its debt, attracting more foreign direct investment, and has implemented financial reforms. Poverty is declining, but still snares about 18% of its population of about 230 million people, 35% of whom do not have electricity—yet.
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