Indonesia's Renewable Energy Potential, Second Highest in the World

With a geothermal potential of 29,543.5 MW, Indonesia ranks second only to the United States as the country with the largest geothermal renewable energy potential in the world. The United States itself has a geothermal potential of 30,000 MW. Indonesia, with such potential, has only installed approximately 1,438.5 MW. The majority is located in Java, with geothermal power generation still amounting to 1,224 MW.

Several government policies are being planned to attract investment for the construction of power plants based on new and renewable energy. The target, with a 23% share in the energy mix by 2025, is to have 46 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from new and renewable energy-based power plants.

The development of geothermal energy in Indonesia is relatively lagging compared to several other countries, such as the Philippines, the United States, New Zealand, and Japan. In fact, the installed geothermal capacity in the Philippines has reached 74% of the country's total potential. This is far above Indonesia, which only reached 4.8 percent in 2016.