Indonesia says French firms to invest $2 bln in geothermal

Indonesia's investment chief Gita Wirjawan said on Friday that French firms have pledged to invest about $2 billion in geothermal power in the country, and will start looking at the prospects this year.

The pledge comes as executives at some French firms including energy major Total are accompanying France's Prime Minister Francois Fillon on a state visit to Jakarta on Friday.
With hundreds of active and extinct volcanoes, Indonesia holds an estimated 28,000 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy potential, but only produces 1,189 MW in geothermal power. The country aims to produce another 3,967 MW by 2014.

The potential remains largely untapped so far because the high cost of geothermal energy makes the price of electricity generated expensive, and because of regulatory hurdles. Source: Reuters