New Zealand, Indonesia to collaborate on geothermal projects

New Zealand and Indonesia have agreed to focus on collaborating on geothermal energy projects as part of efforts to boost bilateral relations.

The foreign ministers of both countries agreed that the geothermal energy sector and other renewable energy projects were a priority for both nations amid increased concerns over climate change and other environmental issues.

“In recent years, the importance [of geothermal energy] has obviously very much elevated given the recent concerns about energy security [and] concern about the environment,” said New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully. “Geothermal activity provides strong opportunity for us to be able to address both energy security issues as well as environmental concerns.”

McCully added that New Zealand was already well established in the geothermal sector, with 15 percent of its energy coming from geothermal sources.

“Without a doubt New Zealand possesses the kind of expertise and technical capacities that we wish to partner with,” said Indonesia Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa. “Certainly when we speak of cooperation between our two countries, geothermal energy must be ... a common endeavor [for] our two sides.”

Two New Zealand backed geothermal energy programs have already been launched in June — one in Sumatra and the other in Sulawesi. The projects, which are managed by Pertamina Geothermal Energy, were set up with $300 million in financing from the World Bank and $6.5 million in technical assistance grants from New Zealand, according to figures from the World Bank.

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