Indonesia struggles to tap volcano power
Columns of steam shoot from the ground at an Indonesian power plant sitting in the shadow of an active volcano, as energy is tapped from the red-hot underbelly of the archipelago. Pipes zig-zag up rugged mountainsides covered in tea plantations, carrying steam from the Earth's core to power enormous, electricity-generating turbines at the Wayang Windu facility on Java island. Indonesia, a seismically-active island chain studded with scores of volcanoes, holds an estimated 40 percent of the world's geothermal energy reserves, but has long lagged behind in its use of the renewable power source. <b>Steam rises from the Wayang Windu geothermal power station on West Java ©Bay Ismoyo (AFP)</b> Now the government is pushing to expand the sector five-fold in the next decade, although the challenges are huge in a country where the burden of red tape remains onerous, big projects are often delayed and targets missed. "The potential is tremendous," said Rully Wirawa...