NOVEMBERASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9NEWSROOMTHAILAND'S INVESTMENT APPLICATIONS HIT RECORD US$ 21.7 BILLIONIndonesia is set to increase its renewable energy capacity by an additional 90 megawatts (MW) by the end of the year as three new geothermal power plants become operational. This marks a significant step in the country's push towards clean energy. The projects include PLTP Salak Binary (15 MW) in West Java, Blawan Ijen Unit 1 (34 MW) in East Java, and Sorik Marapi Unit 5 (40 MW) in North Sumatra. Eniya Listiani Dewi, Director General of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation at Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources highlighted the growing adoption of geothermal energy over the past decade, expressing optimism for further expansion.The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources anticipates geothermal investments to reach $664 million this year, bringing total investments in the sector to $5.4 billion over the past 10 years. However, despite its abundant renewable energy potential and strong economic growth, renewable energy investment in Indonesia has seen stagnation in recent years. Indonesia has made notable progress since 2014, increasing its geothermal capacity by 1.2 gigawatts (GW), bringing the total installed capacity to 2.6 GW. This represents about 11 percent of the nation's total geothermal potential. Currently, geothermal energy accounts for 5.3 percent of Indonesia's energy mix, making it the world's second-largest producer of geothermal electricity. The newly added capacity will electrify 1.3 million homes and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17.4 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, significantly advancing Indonesia's climate targets under the Paris Agreement. According to the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), the value of investment promotion applications rose 42 percent over the previous year to 722.5b (US$ 21.7b) in the first nine months of 2024, the highest amount since 2015.The E&E sector had 291 projects costing 183.4b, followed by the digital sector with 107 projects costing 94.2b, and the automotive and parts sector with 212 projects costing 67.8b. These applications for projects in the targeted industries made up 68 percent of the overall investment amount.Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary general of the BOI, said, "The investment applications in the first nine months clearly demonstrate the rising confidence of investors in key tech industries that Thailand is the strategically located, safe, and resilient place that's best for their business."From January to September, 2,195 projects were submitted for investment promotion, a 46 percent increase from the 1,501 projects submitted during the same time period in 2023. The projects that were applied for in the first nine months of 2023 had an adjusted investment value of 509.4b.There were 162 petrochemical and chemical projects costing 34.3b, while 226 projects in the agriculture and food processing industries had a combined value of 53b. INDONESIA TO INSTALL THREE NEW GEOTHERMAL PLANTS FOR ENERGY EXPANSION
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