Geothermal: The Oldest Form of Energy, The Newest Solution to Sustainable Energy Transition

Geothermal energy is produced by harnessing the naturally occurring heat from Earth's core. It has long been considered an eco-friendly resource. However, in recent decades, advances in technology have made their potential more apparent to address the increasing demand for renewable energy sources

Indonesia is committed to building a green and sustainable future

For the first time, Indonesia has been selected to hold the G20 Presidency with the theme “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”. The G20 is a multilateral cooperation forum of 20 of the world’s major economies that represents more than 80% of world GDP. The Indonesia Presidency is focusing on Sustainable Energy Transition as one of the three priority issues to enable a strong and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The transition toward new and renewable energy is an important pillar because it can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change impacts. It also has positive economic effects such as stimulating investment, creating jobs, and improving human productivity.

Geothermal as the forefront of the green energy transition

?Sitting in the Ring of Fire, Indonesia is blessed with a natural landscape containing about 40% of the world’s geothermal potential. However, most of these reserves remain untapped. The utilization of Indonesia’s geothermal energy is less than 10%. Therefore, this presents a huge potential for geothermal to pave the way for Indonesia to achieve 23% renewable energy in the energy mix by 2025.

?By far, with a total of 2,133 MW capacity installed, Indonesia is currently the second-largest country after the United States. The government of Indonesia has set the target to have 8,000 MW installed capacity of electricity from geothermal energy in 2030. If achieved, Indonesia will become the largest geothermal electricity producer in the world, surpassing the United States.

?What makes geothermal so appealing to become the leading source of green energy?

Geothermal energy is harnessed from the heat found naturally deep within the earth. The heat is a result of a chemical reaction that has been occurring for billions of years. Once it reaches the surface, there are different ways to utilize the heat. The steam can be used to power the turbines to generate electricity and other than that, it can be used in several industry sectors such as tourism (hot springs), agro industry, and the processing industry.

?Geothermal energy is a renewable and inexhaustible source that will last throughout the lifespan of the earth. It will always be there, and it will never run out. Any heat that is used will be naturally replenished or renewed. The hot water that has been used for energy production can be reinjected to the earth, where it can be reheated, and the steam can be used again for generating electricity.

?The environmental impact on nature from the use of geothermal energy is minimal due to the lack of pollution and low-level emissions in the atmosphere, which is impossible if we are talking about thermal power plants burning fossil fuels. Additionally, generating electricity from geothermal energy requires less land area than other renewable resources.

?Geothermal energy works around the clock. It is always available, even when other forms of renewable resources are not. Capable of operating at any time regardless of weather conditions, making geothermal energy effective to generate output near its maximum capacity and supply base load electricity.

Pursuing a higher geothermal energy utilization

Geothermal adoption faces many challenges. Identifying a deep underground resource carries a risk of uncertainty. Before actually drilling the potential location, it is difficult to accurately locate the heat resources, determine the potential power, or know for sure how long it will last. The large upfront investment cost often hampers the development of geothermal energy. The challenge also lies in optimizing the operating cost to make it affordable and competitive.

?Currently, many people put their efforts into figuring out how to harness more geothermal energy efficiently and effectively. Governments are implementing incentive schemes, setting fixed tariffs, as well as creating demand to ensure that geothermal development is economically feasible.

?An abundant supply of geothermal energy is ours for the taking. The benefits, in a way, outweigh the costs and risks. Geothermal energy is good for the environment and always available to power the world even when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.