Indonesia rushes to utilize geothermal heat to curb coal dependence
Indonesia's state-owned oil company Pertamina doubles the output of geothermal power. It will invest up to $ 4 billion (about 500 billion yen) in a few years, and will increase significantly from the present (670,000 kW) to 1.3 million kW. The background is the acceleration of decarbonization as stated in the national strategy. Coal-fired power accounts for 60% of the country's power generation, and there is an urgent need to raise renewable energy such as geothermal energy. Soaring resources are likely to spur decarbonization efforts.
Pertamina operates geothermal power plants in six regions of the country through its subsidiary Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE). "We will double the installed capacity to about 1.3 million kW from the current 670,000 kW," said Nikke Widyawati, president of Pertamina. Contribution to the increase in capacity is the expansion of the "binary method" that can generate electricity even with hot water with a relatively low temperature.
President Nikke (center) of Pertamina wants to raise funds from the private sector (late April, Tomohon).
The method heats another liquid, which has a boiling point lower than that of water, and turns the turbine with the resulting steam. It has the advantage of being able to be installed in any environment over the "flash method" in which the turbine is rotated using high-temperature steam or hot water taken out from the basement.
We are already piloting a binary facility at an existing geothermal power plant in North Sulawesi. After generating electricity at a geothermal power plant with a power generation capacity of 120,000 kW, the hot water that is normally returned to the ground is reused to generate more electricity by the binary method. When adding to an existing power plant, there is no need to drill expensive wells. According to the company, the investment cost is $ 2 to $ 3 million per 1000 kW, which is less than half the cost of new construction.
"The development period is short, investment is low, and power generation costs can be kept down," said Nikke. PGE will be listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange soon for business expansion. According to local media reports, it is expected to raise about $ 400-500 million. We will hurry to expand the facilities using the funds raised.
In geothermal power generation, a well is dug to take out hot water from underground, and steam is used to turn a turbine to generate electricity. Unlike wind power generation and solar power generation, the operating conditions are not affected by the weather, and it does not matter day or night. Expectations are high as a "base road power supply" that operates stably.
Indonesia, which has many volcanic islands, has the second largest amount of geothermal resources in the world after the United States, and has great potential for growth. The reason for the increasing attention to geothermal power generation here is due to the country's national strategy.
The Indonesian government has set a goal of achieving "carbon neutral", which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to virtually zero by 1960. This is because President Joko decided in response to the global trend, and it is essential to secure a power source that does not emit carbon dioxide. The immediate goal is to increase the ratio of renewable energy to power generation from the current 14% to 23% by 2013.
However, coal-fired power accounts for more than 60% of the current power generation. The cost is small because it can be obtained at a low price. Although it varies depending on the power plant and the project, most people say that the cost of geothermal power generation is "generally more expensive than coal-fired power generation" (a major trading company). The cost barrier has hindered its widespread use, but what is changing this is the recent rise in resources.
The price of resources such as coal continues to rise due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. With the lack of cheap energy sources as in the past, incentives to expand geothermal power generation will become easier to work with. If the use of geothermal resources increases rapidly in the country, which has abundant geothermal resources, the impact on the world as a whole is likely to increase.
Geothermal resources are abundant in the "Ring of Fire" that surrounds the Pacific Ocean along continents and islands. Among them, the United States, Indonesia, and Japan are by far the best. However, when we look at the equipment, the situation is different. Japanese companies used to play a leading role, but the high-efficiency equipment in the limelight is behind the Americans.
According to the Japan Oil, Natural Gas and Metals and Mineral Resources Organization (JOGMEC), Indonesia's geothermal resources are 27.79 million kW, the second largest in the world after the United States (30 million kW). Japan (23.47 million kW) will follow after that. The United States and Indonesia are prominent in terms of the capacity of power generation facilities, but Japan is in the 500,000 kW range, which is less than Italy, which has 3.27 million kW of resources.
Economic and geographical factors are behind the lack of development in Japan. Geothermal power generation has a high development cost, such as digging a well for hundreds of millions of yen, and it is difficult to find a stratum that stores steam, so there is a risk of failure. This is because the period from the survey to power generation is as long as about 15 years.
Looking around the world, Japanese companies have shown their presence in this area. General trading companies such as Sumitomo Corporation and Itochu Corporation and INPEX are actively participating in the development. Especially in terms of equipment, Toshiba and Fuji Electric have abundant achievements in Japan and overseas. Japan has a 70% share of the world market for geothermal turbines.
However, because the development plan for the binary method did not spread in Japan, Japanese companies are in a position to chase after being swept by overseas forces such as Omat Technologies of the United States establishing an overwhelming position. There are many voices that the public and private sectors need to take measures to rewind.
