Geothermal Isn't Expensive: The Reservoir Always Has the Final Say Somewhere beneath a volcanic ridge, a drill bit is turning through rock that has not moved in two million years. It costs money every second it turns. And nobody on the surface — not the engineer, not the financier, not the minister who announced the megawatts — knows yet whether that well will produce steam or silence. That single moment explains almost everything people get wrong about geothermal energy. Geothermal is routinely described as expensive, slow, capital-hungry and haunted by drilling risk. Investors are reminded that tens of millions can disappear underground before a single megawatt reaches a grid. All of that is true. But it is not the whole truth. The uncomfortable question the industry keeps avoiding is this: is geothermal expensive, or is the way we develop geothermal making it expensive? Those are two completely different problems. One is geology. The other is us. Why Geothermal Refuses to Be...
Medco Power Kicks Off Geothermal Drilling in Bonjol, Targeting 60 MW Clean Energy By: Robert Buluma Pasaman, West Sumatra – Indonesia’s transition to clean energy has reached another milestone as PT Medco Power Indonesia , through its subsidiary PT Medco Geothermal Sumatra, officially began drilling its first geothermal exploration well in Bonjol, Pasaman Regency. The inaugural well, BNJ-1 , was spudded on 11 September 2025 in a ceremony attended by the Governor of West Sumatra, Mahyeldi Ansharullah , Medco Power President Director Eka Satria , local government leaders, traditional community representatives, and local stakeholders. A Step Toward 60 MW of Renewable Power This drilling marks the first of two planned wells, with a total estimated potential of 60 MW of clean electricity. The project, categorized as part of Indonesia’s National Strategic Projects under the Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL 2025–2034), is expected to be completed by the ...