WGC 2010 in Bali: a Record- Breaking Congress

François-D. Vuataz, IGA BoD member, CREGE, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Introduction
Geothermal, the energy to change the World: this was the motto of the last World Geothermal Congress that took place in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia from April 25 to 30, 2010. The event was convened by the International Geothermal Association (IGA) and co-convened by the Indonesian Geothermal Association (INAGA). Ranked third among geothermal power producers and with its huge potential, Indonesia is today the best country to present the state of the art in geothermal energy. Moreover, the attractive island of Bali and the stunning International Convention Centre in Nusa Dua were the natural place to organize such event.

Programme
The organizing committee and the IGA steering committee did an outstanding job in preparing the congress and, from the participants’ point of view, the whole programme ran efficiently and smoothly. The programme itself was composed of the following main events: the Opening session, the 130 Technical sessions and the Closing ceremony with the signature of the Bali
Declaration. The social events were marked by a friendly Welcome reception, a spectacular Indonesian cultural night
and a hot Farewell party! If we compare some statistics from WGC 2000 and 2005 with the last one, Bali was the congress of all the
records. Similarly, when comparing the status of geothermal development at the period of those last three milestones,
one can say that Bali was the witness of a strong geothermal restart. As in other large international gatherings, new contacts
were made , agreements were signed and new collaborations were built for the sake of geothermal energy. Moreover, two panel discussions were held – on the international effort to attract investment in geothermal energy, and on the international perspective to support geothermal development in Indonesia.

Trends
Looking at the relative numbers of papers in the 40 topics proposed during the 130 technical sessions, it is interesting to see where the main efforts are centred. Actually, eight out of 40 topics represent precisely 50% of all the proceedings papers (Table 3).
It appears that indirect and surface methods (geophysics, geochemistry and geology) are still very important in the exploration and management of geothermal resources and reservoirs. Numerous papers about exploration show how active is the quest for new resources. Moreover, never before in a congress have so many papers and sessions been focused on Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Although for the last five years numerous projects have been in progress on several continents, major difficulties linked to drilling and to reservoir stimulation have retarded the development of this technology. As a result, only two small pilot plants are
under exploitation today (at Soultz-sous-Forêts, France, and Landau, Germany, both located in the Rhine graben).
Among many interesting and important projects, one stands out particularly: the exploration for supercritical fluids, namely the striking Icelandic Deep Drilling Project (IDDP). The aim of the project is to exploit supercritical fluid at a depth of 4-5 km and a temperature of 400- 600°C. At a given flow rate, the amount of power generated with such a fluid would be twice that of a classical high temperature geothermal field. After a first drilling attempt, a 2.1 km well in the Krafla geothermal field (NE-Iceland) had unfortunately to be stopped after a body of molten magma was encountered. The project will continue with the drilling of new wells on other sites.

Final remarks
WCC 2010 was definitely a great event in a very friendly atmosphere. The excellent planning and organization were a decisive point. But above all, the handling and review of over 1000 papers by the Technical Programme Committee and their implementation on the IGA database, as well as the preparation of the proceedings CD is to my view the one key-element for developing geothermal energy during the next five years, by allowing professionals to be informed of the latest results and experiences worldwide until WGC 2015 in Melbourne.

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The Bali Declaration

“Geothermal Energy to Change the World”
 We are more than 2500 members from World Geothermal Communities represented by 85 countries assembled in Bali, Indonesia, for the World Geothermal Congress 2010. The Congress has been convened by the International Geothermal Association and the Indonesian Geothermal Association. Indonesia is a country that has been blessed with abundant, sustainable natural sources of energy including perhaps the world’s largest readily accessible geothermal resources. In light of the long history of geothermal energy development here in Indonesia and throughout the world it is only appropriate that we, the participants of the World Geothermal Congress 2010 so assembled, do hereby declare:

FIRSTLY – Energy constitutes a basic and continuing human need
a. Humankind is learning to develop technology to effectively and efficiently manage this diverse energy need in an environmentally responsible manner.
b. Natural resources should not be considered merely as an inheritance from our ancestors, but that which has been entrusted to us for our children and grandchildren.
c. Without energy other natural resources cannot be developed, industrialization cannot occur; food production will always be a problem, unemployment will continue to be a major issue, and health services will be extremely limited.
d. Geothermal energy can be a major player in making significant changes in that situation and is reflected in the theme of the Congress. Geothermal: The Energy to Change the World.

SECONDLY – It is established that
a. The world needs energy, now and in the future. Geothermal energy is hugely abundant.
b. Climate change must be well managed and energy must be provided at a reasonable cost to our growing world wide population.
c. Geothermal energy is indigenous, sustainable and environmentally responsible, counteracting global warming by displacing carbon-intensive energy usage.
d. Geothermal energy can generate electricity as well as provide for the development of a wide range of direct uses including heating and cooling buildings, various industrial processes and agricultural production, as well as balneological and recreational health resorts.
e. Geothermal energy is the only renewable energy source which is totally independent of daily, seasonal and climatic variation, allowing it to provide power with a higher availability than any other energy source including fossil fuels and nuclear.
f. Geothermal energy technology is well established, though it is continuously being improved.
g. Geothermal energy has to date only been developed to a very limited extent compared to the potential resource base. Obtaining financing, and legal, institutional and regulatory barriers are two of the limiting factors.
h. Geothermal technologies based on higher temperature resources have life-cycle costs competitive with other forms of energy. Cost competitiveness is steadily being extended down the resource curve as technology improves, but at the lower end of the temperature scale pro-active policies or incentives are still needed to increase geothermal competitiveness.
i. The importance of extending geothermal energy usage to lower temperatures is that not only is the resources base increased exponentially as the minimum temperature is reduced, but the range of geographies where it can be applied also greatly increases.

THRIDLY: We the assembled therefore do urge that
a. Large investment is secured for national, regional and local geothermal projects in developing as well as developed countries and economies in transition. Greater acceptance of geothermal by international funding agencies can play a major role.
b. Legislative and administrative barriers be removed and reformed.
c. All technocrats, decision makers, politicians and world leaders, whether they are in the developed or developing countries strive to create a favorable political climate by molding public opinions that are conducive to the sustainable development of geothermal energy. This can include for example government support in the areas of risk mitigation insurance, cost sharing, loan guarantees and production tax credits.
d. Investments can be provided in many forms (financial incentives from government, loans and capital investment from banks, private investors, venture capital funds) and policies need to be established to facilitate accessing all of these sources.
e. Recognition be given to the important role of existing utilities as the off taker for electrical output, that Renewable Portfolio Standards be adopted, that Integrated Resource Planning be fully implemented and standard offer contracts including feed-in tariffs be made available.
f. Substantial funding be committed to research and development to improve the cost competitiveness of geothermal energy production, particularly where it means it can be extended into new situations, such as at low temperatures and into different geological settings.
g. Know-how transfer from developed to developing countries is facilitated and supported through effective international cooperation among government, private and academic institutions, especially by joint training and education, capacity building, and technical assistance.

FOURTHLY – All this will
a. Avoid additional carbon dioxide emissions and reduce current emission levels;
b. Create employment opportunities, increase industrial development and agricultural production and improve the standard of living of citizens of the world;
c. Secure adequate and environmentally responsible energy supply for generations to come; and last but not least
d. Effectuate “geothermal energy to change the world” toward a sustainable peaceful, healthy and clean environment in a world to live in and consequently the lasting prosperity of the people through out the world. Nusa Dua, Bali – Indonesia, 30th April 2010.

All IGA affiliated organizations will be invited to sign the Bali Declaration.

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