RI, Cooperates With New Zealand In Geothermal Energy

Yogyakarta (Antara Bali) - Indonesia and New Zealand have agreed  on cooperation in geothermal energy research , Education Minister Muhammad Nuh said.
      
New Zealand has high technology  and research expertise in geothermal energy, Nuh said  in between a meeting here of East Asian and ASEAN education ministers on Thursday.
      
Indonesia has the largest geothermal reserves in the world, but the country has not been able to make use of its natural wealth.
      
Nuh said the education ministry has established cooperation with a number of major universities in the country like Bandung Institute of Technology, and  Surabaya Institute of Technology to develop research in geothermal.
      
He said development of renewable energy sources has become crucial issue in the world  making geothermal more important.
      
He said so far only 5 percent of the country's geothermal reserves have been utilized to generate energy.
      
Explorations for  and development of geothermal energy will be expanded and continued to economize on the expensive oil, he said.(*/M038)