Summary/ Reader Response Draft 1- Clean Energy Transition

In the article, “How Can Southeast Asia’s Clean Energy Transition Be Sped Up?” Ha (2019) wrote about energy experts addressing the important issue of clean energy transition in Southeast Asia. He mentioned Moniz, who is the Chief Executive of the Energy Futures and Nuclear Threat Initiative, talking about deploying “low-carbon technologies and solutions” for energy to lower emissions in the ASEAN region. Ha also said that Moniz mentioned nuclear fusion or hydrogen power as a substitute for solar and wind power in Singapore due to its lack of natural resources and land. In addition, it is also stated that Wong, Group Chief Executive of utility company Singapore Power, mentioned that Southeast Asia must consider both its consumption and production of energy. They should consider new energy sources and ways to reduce energy consumption while maintaining the same lifestyle to comply with the Paris Agreement. Ha stated that ASEAN should consider replacing the use of coal to produce energy as it produces the most greenhouse gases. Ha then mentioned that Moniz proposed to reduce costs in the power, industrial, and transportation sectors to be able to transition towards renewable energy. To meet the Paris Agreement’s goals by 2050, Indonesia should use clean energy such as geothermal energy.

Firstly, in the article “ What is Geothermal Energy? How does it work?” (n.d.), it was written that geothermal energy comes from the Earth’s core. It is said that the steam and heated water that comes from the underground geothermal reservoirs can be used to generate electricity and other heating and cooling applications.

According to “The Growth of Renewable Energy in Indonesia- Current State, Opportunities and Challenges” Tachev (2019) wrote that geothermal energy takes up about 5 percent of the renewable share in Indonesia’s power mix. In the article “Developing Indonesia’s Geothermal Power Potential”, it was reported that “Indonesia has an estimated potential of 29,000 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy resources- the largest in the world’. It was also stated that the “installed geothermal power capacity was 1,800 MW in 2017”. In addition, it was reported in the article that Indonesia aims to reach a “geothermal production capacity of 5,000 MW”. According to “Energy sector in Indonesia- Statistics & Facts”, the Statista Research Department (2022) wrote that the main energy supply in Indonesia is fossil fuels and most of the electricity comes from coal and natural gas. It was then stated that geothermal is the “perfect replacement for coal or for gas” as it is a “constant resource and it is always there”.

In addition, one of the advantages that was written in the article “Advantages and Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy - The Source of Renewable Heat” (2021) is that "geothermal pump systems use 25 percent to 50 percent less electricity than conventional systems for heating or cooling". It was also said that geothermal systems have flexible designs, which allow them to be adjusted to different circumstances while using less hardware space as compared to conventional systems.

However, there are disadvantages to using geothermal energy. According to “Advantages and Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy - The Source of Renewable Heat” (2021), it was written that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are released when geothermal energy is extracted from the ground. Nevertheless, it was stated in the article that the amount of greenhouse gas released from extracting geothermal energy is substantially lower as compared to fossil fuels.

In conclusion, regardless of the disadvantages that geothermal energy or the system has, I believe that Indonesia should still use geothermal energy instead of the current fossil fuel that they are using. Other than meeting the Paris Agreement’s goals by 2050, Indonesia should use geothermal energy as it is clean energy and it will benefit the Earth. I think that the current geothermal energy in Indonesia is not enough to provide enough energy for Indonesia’s population. It is also not enough to meet the energy demand in Indonesia. Indonesia should also consider other clean energy sources, such as solar and hydropower energy, to lessen the use of fossil fuels. 


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