World Bank to give Indonesia $55m to develop geothermal energy

World Bank to give Indonesia $55m to develop geothermal energy

The World Bank said Friday it will extend Indonesia a US$55.25 million grant
to facilitate geothermal energy power plant development in the country,
which aims to become the world's biggest geothermal producer.

The bank said in a statement that the grant will support Indonesia's
Geothermal Energy Upstream Development Project and will mostly be used to
fund infrastructure development and drilling exploration.

"Insufficient energy holds back Indonesia's growth potential and limits the
future opportunities of millions of Indonesians," said Rodrigo Chaves, the
bank's country director for Indonesia.

"The World Bank fully supports the government's efforts to achieve 100%
access to modern, reliable electricity as quickly as possible," he added.

Indonesia, which utilises only 5% of its estimated geothermal potential of
29.5 gigawatts, aims to surpass the United States as the world's biggest
producer by 2025.

Production capacity is targeted to increase in stages from the current 1.6
GW to 7.2 GW by 2025, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources.

Around 30 million people, or 12% of Indonesia's population, lack access to
modern and reliable electricity, especially in the eastern part of the vast
archipelago.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asean/1196364/world-bank-to-give-indonesia-5
5m-to-develop-geothermal-energy

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com