Jakarta – The latest report from Project InnerSpace, entitled The Future of Geothermal in Indonesia, reveals that Indonesia’s geothermal energy potential is 2,160 gigawatts (GW). This finding opens up enormous opportunities for Indonesia to use geothermal energy not only as a source of electricity but also as a provider of industrial heat and district cooling systems for industrial estates, new cities, and data centres.
A report released on Tuesday, 2 December, shows that advances in drilling and subsurface exploration technology are making the utilisation of next-generation geothermal energy increasingly realistic, affordable and feasible for development in areas that were previously unsuitable for conventional geothermal energy. With these new capabilities, Indonesia is seen as a strong candidate to become a global leader in new-generation geothermal energy, owing to its wealth of resources and long experience in the oil and gas and geothermal industries.
Director of Global Engagement for Project InnerSpace, Jackson Grimes, said that Indonesia is actually one step ahead of many other countries. He said that as a a world leader in hydrothermal (conventional) geothermal energy, Indonesia’s long heritage in the oil and gas and geothermal sectors gives the country the technical skills, drilling capacity and operational expertise to lead the next phase, namely geothermal-based cooling, industrial heat and electricity from the latest generation of geothermal energy.
Grimes added that significant progress could be made if the Indonesian government updated its policies and opened up more opportunities for non-electric geothermal applications. He said that their analysis shows that by modernising geothermal regulations and broadening the national focus beyond electricity, Indonesia could unlock thousands of megawatts of reliable, low-emission energy, strengthen industrial competitiveness, and create hundreds of thousands of skilled jobs, while improving energy security and strengthening social acceptance through clearer benefits for communities.
One important breakthrough is the arrival of the latest generation of geothermal systems, which no longer require natural underground reservoirs. This technology can extract geothermal energy from hot rock layers at depths of over 3,000 metres, meaning it can be built near industrial areas, city centres, and even university campuses.
IESR CEO Fabby Tumiwa explained that this technology addresses the shortcomings of conventional geothermal energy, which often intersects with protected areas or residential areas.
“This latest generation geothermal system is different because it does not require natural underground reservoirs and can therefore be developed anywhere with sufficient geothermal resources. Thus, one of the main issues with conventional geothermal energy, such as its frequent location in protected areas or near residential areas, which can cause potential socio-economic impacts and conflicts, can be avoided,” he said.
Fabby believes the benefits can be felt immediately by the community due to the greater flexibility in location.
“Geothermal energy can be utilised to provide heat or generate electricity in locations where it is needed, including by the community,” he explained. He added that Indonesia has experts who are capable of developing this technology.
“Leveraging our expertise in oil and gas and geothermal energy will help transform this potential into tangible projects and accelerate the reduction of geothermal energy utilisation costs.”
With a technical potential of 2,160 GW, geothermal energy is estimated to meet up to 90% of the manufacturing industry’s heat requirements. The food and beverage, textile, chemical and smelter industries can utilise geothermal energy as a substitute for gas and coal, which have dominated heat energy consumption to date.
In addition, geothermal district cooling is considered highly suitable for supporting the growth of data centres and industrial cities in Indonesia. This technology can reduce cooling electricity consumption by 50–70%, provide cleaner air, and reduce the burden on the electricity grid.
To demonstrate the readiness of geothermal cooling technology, Project InnerSpace will fund a feasibility study at Gadjah Mada University (UGM). This study will assess the feasibility of developing a geothermal-based campus cooling system that could become Indonesia’s first district cooling project to fully utilise geothermal energy.
If the study results are deemed feasible, Project InnerSpace will continue developing the project through the GeoFund programme, paving the way for the implementation of similar technologies in other industrial areas and major cities. (Hartatik)
Banner photo: Image generated by OpenAI’s DALL·E via ChatGPT (2024)
