Indonesia and Japan announced the financial closing of a monumental $500 million project that will add a second unit to the Muara Laboh geothermal plant in West Sumatra, Indonesia, according to the Indonesia Business Post.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who serves as special envoy for the current prime minister, met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Together, they sealed the deal and accentuated the strength of the nations' bilateral cooperation.
"This 88-megawatt geothermal project in Solok, West Sumatra, marks a concrete showcase of our commitment under the Asia Zero Emission Community," Indonesia's coordinating minister for the economy, Airlangga Hartarto, told the Indonesia Business Post. "It is a significant step forward in our energy transition efforts."
Kishida created AZEC as prime minister to help decarbonize Asia with other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and create, per The Associated Press, "a new, huge decarbonization market in Asia that will attract global capital."
Similar initiatives are underway in the U.S. in Colorado and Texas, among other states.
Although there are some concerns about geothermal energy, on the whole, it provides many environmental and human benefits.
It is a renewable resource that reduces planet-warming emissions, air pollution, and dependence on fossil fuels.
The geothermal energy industry also creates jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Opportunities should arise for workers in a wide variety of occupations with different education and training requirements. … As the demand for clean energy grows, jobs in geothermal energy will be a small but growing potential source of new employment opportunities."
In other words, it is both financially and environmentally profitable for society to move away from dirty energy and toward newer, cleaner alternatives.
One of the best ways for consumers to compound the economic and environmental benefits of initiatives like these is to transition their homes to solar power. This move can bring energy costs down to or near $0.
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Voicing gratitude for the kinship and shared vision of the two nations, Hartarto said to Antara News: "Indonesia deeply appreciates Japan's commitment to sustainable development. This progress reflects both countries' efforts to foster mutually beneficial economic cooperation and shared prosperity."
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