TOKYO, June 17 (UPI) -- Japanese trading company Marubeni joined French and Indonesian partners in a venture to develop geothermal resources in the region.
"From this point, the consortium will develop the geothermal resources in the Rantau Dedap area, construct a power plant with a capacity of 220,000 kilowatts and execute a long-term power purchase agreement with the state-owned electricity company (Persero), with 2016 being the target date for commencing commercial operations," the Japanese company said in a statement.
The Indonesian government adopted a fast-track plan to develop as much as 10,000 megawatts of domestic electricity. Marubeni notes the country has the largest estimated geothermal resources in the world.
The International Energy Agency said in a report published this week that policy actions and better incentives could help increase the amount of geothermal energy in the global energy mix from around 0.25 percent currently to more than 3 percent by 2050.
The IEA recommends that governments introduce incentives that would encourage the commercial development of geothermal technologies and payments to third parties that introduce alternative energy to the current grid. Permits should be made easier as well, the IEA stressed.
