Indonesia Considering Volcano-Powered Geothermal Energy Production

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The Indonesian government is planning to develop a geothermal power network sourced by the archipelago’s many volcanoes.  This endless source of heat would provide up to 4,000 megawatts of electricity by 2014, enough to power 4,000,000 Indonesian homes.

Presently, Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy and third greatest polluter of greenhouse gases.  This move to volcano-powered geothermal energy would serve to cut greenhouse emissions that result from Indonesia’s primarily coal-powered electric grid.  While geothermal energy isn’t uncommon in Indonesia, the use of heat from volcanoes is new territory.  The volcanoes in the Indonesian government’s plans would provide 4,000 megawatts of electricity to a large number of Indonesian citizens.

Indonesia’s goal is to become the world leader in geothermal energy and to drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.  Such a strategy is a boon for the climate change prevention movement, and an economically opportune move for Indonesia.  The government will need a $12 billion investment to get the project going, which should be completed by 2014.  More realistically, analysts suggest that field exploration could require up to five years alone, which would push Indonesia’s target date further into the future.