Canberra Times
Monday 10/11/2008 Page: 11
In their quest for energy security, Indonesia and the Philippines are planning to develop nuclear energy to buttress a key part of their electricity-generating systems. This provides the near constant, or baseload, power needed by industries and households.
However, the possibility of accidents and deadly radioactive releases from nuclear energy plants - particularly those in countries like Indonesia and the Philippines which are peppered with active volcanoes and subject to earthquakes and tsunamis - worries neighbouring nations, among them Australia and Singapore. Such plants would be sited on coastlines so they could draw water from the sea for cooling purposes. Yet the very basis for these safety concerns points to a solution.
Instead of going nuclear with its risks, Indonesia and the Philippines could expand what they are already doing: tapping the virtually limitless heat from deep underground to power their economies. The two South-East Asian countries are the world's biggest geothermal electricity producers, after the United States.
This form of renewable energy supplies just over 23 per cent of the electricity generated in the Philippines and 5 per cent in Indonesia. It has reliability advantages over solar and wind energy, mainly because geothermal fields do not stop producing energy after the sun sets, or when the wind ceases to blow or gusts too hard.
Coming from the earth's molten core and from the decay of naturally occurring elements such as uranium and thorium, the heat energy in the uppermost 10km of the planet's crust is vast - 50,000 times greater than the energy content of all known oil and natural gas resources.
Among countries with the richest geothermal resources are those that he atop the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a hot geological zone that encircles the Pacific Ocean. They include the western US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Russia, Japan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and New Zealand.
On a worldwide basis, hydro power is by far the most important renewable energy source, accounting for 19 per cent of global electricity production. Wind generates just 1 per cent of world power. While both geothermal and solar energy each provide well under 1 per cent, they have the potential to supply much more. Indonesia is the world's third biggest producer of geothermal electricity. Yet it supplies barely 1000 megawatts of an estimated 27,000 MW potential from its geothermal resources, one of the world's largest.
It plans to develop new capacity of nearly 7000 MW over the next decade, equivalent to ten nuclear energy plants and equal to nearly 30 per cent of its current electricity generating capacity from all sources. The Philippines, the number two producer after the US, aims to increase its installed geothermal capacity by 2013 by over 60 per cent, to just over 3100 MW.
But first impediments in both countries to expanded geothermal investment must be removed. A presidential decree in Indonesia last month offered tax incentives for expanded production from existing fields and development of new resources.
However, political bickering in the Philippines has blocked passage of a renewable energy Bill to provide greater incentives and clarity. In both countries, official red tape, difficulty in gaining access to public and private land for development projects, and disputes over the price offered for geothermal electricity going into state-owned power supply networks had slowed progress.
Now the global squeeze on credit and the recent fall in prices of competing fossil fuel energy sources like coal, oil and natural gas, are putting additional barriers in the way of geothermal expansion. Still, the potential for growth remains promising. According to a recent survey by the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, geothermal energy is being tapped in 24 countries, five of which used it to produce 15 per cent or more of their total electricity.
In the first half of this year, world installed geothermal power capacity passed 10,000 MW and now produces enough electricity to meet the needs of 60 million people, roughly the population of Britain. By 2010, capacity could increase to 13,500 MW in 46 countries.
Most geothermal plants in operation around the world tap into underground pockets of high temperature water or steam to drive steam turbines. These ventures need high capital investment for exploration, drilling and plant and pipeline construction, compared with coal or gas-fired electricity plants. However, operation and maintenance costs are relatively low.
New geothermal technologies enable electricity to be generated at much lower temperatures. They use liquids with lower boiling points than water in heat exchange systems, opening a vast new frontier for geothermal power.
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