Indonesian geothermal energy project sets target for powering data centers

An Indonesian power giant has announced its intentions to start using geothermal energy to provide clean power that will supply data centers in the country. 

The goal is to encourage more developers to build there

Star Energy Geothermal, which is owned by one of the most highly valued companies in the country, PT Barito Renewables Energy, is currently in discussions for providing clean power to data centers of developers willing to build those facilities in proximity to the company’s geothermal energy plants.

The electric company is seeking a new market, as it currently sells exclusively to the Indonesian state utility.  It is hoping to open its doors to “customers who are willing to buy renewable energy in Indonesia,” said Star Energy Chief Exec Hendra Soetjipo Tan in a media statement at Bloomberg’s Business Summit, which took place at the end of last month in Singapore.

The company is also examining other opportunities for distributing the clean electricity it generates, such as through exports of its power to neighboring countries, said the CEO.  That said, those appear to be future plans, and he provided no further details on that front.

Geothermal energy for data centers could be invaluable as AI takes off

Artificial intelligence is becoming explosively popular worldwide, but it takes a substantial amount of additional electricity to keep it going. Therefore, both generating the power needed for the data centers, and doing so without producing carbon emissions has become an increasingly important goal.

Tech companies around the world have been scrambling to secure the long-term contracts they need to be able to confidently build and power their data centers.  Geothermal energy provides a stable and consistent power source, particularly in comparison with wind and solar power, which are clean but can be intermittent.

Choosing locations

Tech companies worldwide are seeking to build data sources within range of sources of clean power. This typically means that they are either near areas of high demand, such as urban centers, or remote locations.  Geothermal energy plants tend to be built wherever natural heat is found close to the surface of the Earth, such as near hot springs or volcanoes.  Indonesia is located at the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is highly seismically active and has the greatest geothermal potential in the world, according to the Asian Development Bank. It already contributes about 2.1 gigawatts, about 13 percent, to the global total capacity.

Though renewable remains only a small proportion of the total installed energy capacity of the world, this sector has been seeing substantial growth in interest, particularly as areas such a artificial intelligence and other branches of computing keep taking off. Investments into geothermal energy plants grew by $8 billion last year, which was higher than any other year, according to data published by BloombergNEF.