Indonesia to speed up geothermal development

JAKARTA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government will speed up the development of geothermal energy to replace fossil fuel energy whose consumption continues to rise amid accelerating economic growth and dwindling oil production, official said here on Friday.

Indonesia is an archipelago country and home to 129 active volcanoes which have huge geothermal energy.

Director General of New Renewable Energy and Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Human Resources, Rida Mulyana said that Indonesia will further intensify synergy and boost coordination between relevant agencies.

"In the years ahead, geothermal energy will be more optimized so that it can reduce fuel consumption," she said, quoted by the Antara news wire.

The director also said that the government will complete the development of 28 points of geothermal locations in partnership with the Ministry of Forestry.

Indonesia's oil production has decreased in recent years, making it a net oil importer country and exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2008.

The largest economy in Southeast Asia has expanded by more than 6 percent since 2010 and is expected to grow by 6.8 percent this year and 7 percent in 2014.

The rising gross domestic product has pushed higher demand for energy consumption.

The country's trade deficit reached 1.65 billion U.S. dollar last year, the first deficit in its history largely attributable to an increase in the importation of oil and gas.

In 2012, oil imports reached 42.56 billion U.S. dollars, compared with the 2011 figure of 40.7 billion U.S. dollars.

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