Cempaka Development, Construction & Utilities: Indonesia Works To Secure Lead in "Ring of Fire" Geothermal Market

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,.. etc.)

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“.. Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time. …”

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Indonesia Works To Secure Lead in "Ring of Fire" Geothermal Market

Renewable Energy World, By Ivan Castano, Contributor , November 2, 2011

Jakarta, Indonesia -- Indonesia is aggressively moving to build up its geothermal industry with plans add as much as 9,000 MW of installed capacity by 2025. However, industry observers say the Southeast Asian country's government must do more to attract foreign investment if it wants to achieve that target.

"The tenders are out there, they just need the investors to come in," says Paul Brophy, president and chief executive of geothermal consultancy GES, which is working with the Indonesian government to help boost foreign investment and develop the geothermal industry. "So far, some 20 to 30 concessions have been issued so there is still lots of room for new companies to come in and develop the resources."

Industry observers say Indonesia, with the world's highest number of active volcanoes, has the greatest geothermal potential in the so-called Ring of Fire volcanic region straddling the country as well as New Zealand, Philippines, Japan and the Eastern part of Russia. Of all those countries, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan have the strongest development potential, observers say.

However, Indonesia has more volcanic "hot spots" (some 265) and a more aggressive development scheme than the other countries. Developers are using these hot spots to drill holes that can produce steam from volcanic energy. So far, Chevron is the leading foreign developer in the sector but others including Indian industrial conglomerate Tata, Shell, Canada's Raser Technologies and Australia's Origin Energy are also looking to set up geothermal plants.

Investment Challenge

Brophy said the biggest stumbling block in the way to Indonesia's development dream is a dearth of foreign investment as the government does not want to finance the 9,000-MW build-up, estimated to cost $30 billion, on its own.

To do this, the government recently issued a law that would allow foreign developers to pursue their own projects as long as an Indonesian player receives a five percent stake in them. To meet this requirement, international developers must set up consortiums that include at least one Indonesian company, Brophy explained, adding that he thinks that the law will boost investment. This is because before, foreign companies were mostly restricted to partner with state energy group Pertamina if they wanted to build a geothermal project in Indonesia.

"They don't need to partner with Peternina anymore. They can go on their own as long as an Indonesian player has at least five percent equity in the project," adds one industry observer.

Jennifer Derstine, a renewable energy analyst at the U.S. Department of Commerce's international trade mission, agrees that the government is working to attract more international players. She adds that when the department of commerce launched a geothermal trade mission two years ago, the investment framework banned foreign companies from pursuing small geothermal projects on their own. However, that is now allowed and is expected to bolster interest from U.S. and other foreign companies to roll out projects.

"The law had reserved smaller-size development permits of geothermal plants under 10 MW for Indonesian companies. Now, the market is open to U.S. geothermal developers and investors," says Derstine.

"Uncompetitive" Tariffs

However, echoing other views, she says tariffs are still too low to make geothermal projects competitive. Brophy says Jakarta is also working to address this issue. State electricity company PLN recently established a U.S. $0.097 feed-in tariff per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for geothermal plants, but the region is wiling to negotiate a higher price for projects located far from the power grid. However, some investors are concerned about whether debt-ridden PLN will ultimately be able to pay those prices as state coffers are already burdened with high subsidies for the energy sector, observers say.

Because building geothermal plants is expensive, with the ultimate capacity that can be extracted from them, uncertain, developers are looking for the highest possible tariffs and assurances that the projects will be profitable before jumping into the market. Brophy adds that the government is aware that tariffs must be more competitive and that it is likely to shift some traditional power subsidies into renewable energy to develop the geothermal space as well as other green technologies.

The Indonesian tariff is lower than in the U.S. where developers are paid $0.10 to $0.12 per kWh. Development costs are much lower in Indonesia, however, Brophy says.

If all goes well — and barring a prolonged and deeper global recession — Brophy hopes Indonesia will be able to attract enough foreign money to meet its 2025 geothermal targets, which could ultimately make the country the world's biggest producer of geothermal power. But it will need to watch over rivals like the Philippines and Japan. The former is looking to install 3,000 MW by 2020, up from 1.95 MW now. And as it moves to diversify its energy matrix following its recent nuclear disaster, Japan could also draft ambitious plans to develop its "vast" geothermal resources, Derstine adds.

For now, eyes are on Indonesia as a potential leader in geothermal energy as long as it can get the funds it needs to meet its ambitious development targets.