Report says next-generation geothermal could meet majority of Indonesia’s demand
Tuesday, December 2 2025 - 05:37 PM WIB
By Romel S. Gurky
Project InnerSpace has released a study estimating that Indonesia’s geothermal technical potential could reach 2,160 gigawatts, far exceeding current assessments of conventional hydrothermal resources. The report, published Tuesday, says advanced geothermal systems could supply up to 90% of the country’s industrial process-heat demand and materially reduce dependence on coal and imported fuels.
The study outlines how improvements in drilling and subsurface engineering could allow geothermal development beyond naturally occurring reservoirs, enabling deployment closer to industrial centers and urban areas. It notes that Indonesia’s long-standing oil, gas and geothermal operations provide domestic expertise relevant to scaling next-generation systems.
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The report recommends updating Indonesia’s geothermal regulations to explicitly cover non-hydrothermal systems, direct-use heat and district cooling. It also calls for national targets for geothermal electricity and heat, streamlined permitting, revised production bonuses to increase benefits for communities, and expanded workforce training to align with the sector’s technical needs.
Project InnerSpace and the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), which contributed to the research, say next-generation geothermal could support reliable power, industrial heat and cooling applications. As a follow-up, Project InnerSpace will fund a feasibility study for a geothermal cooling project at Gadjah Mada University.
Geothermal currently accounts for a small share of Indonesia’s total energy use despite the country being among the world’s largest holders of conventional geothermal resources. The report argues that widening the technological scope could accelerate renewable energy deployment and improve long-term energy security.
Please click here to see the full report
Editing by Alexander Ginting