Foreigners target geothermal power plant projects

September 17, 2016, 04.40 PM  | Reporter: Febrina Ratna Iskana
Foreigners target geothermal power plant projects


JAKARTA. Government claimed that many foreign investors are interested in working on geothermal power plant (PLTP) projects.

Currently, number of foreign investors have involved in some PLTP projects. According to Director of Geothermal at Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Yunus Saefulhak, in a recent bidding process, government has decided in favor of a consortium of PT Optimum Nusantara and the Italian company Enel Green Power S.p.A to work on Geothermal Working Area (WKP) Way Ratai in Lampung province that has 55 megawatt (MW) of capacity.

American company Ormat Technologies Inc is now involving in the bidding process of WKP Simbolon Samosir in North Sumatra province. Aside of the American Ormat, Chinese and Japanese companies are also involving in the bidding process.

Meanwhile, British company Green Energy Geothermal (GEG) Ltd is ready to cooperate with Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) to activate some of 2 megawatt-capacity geothermal power plants, which are recently stagnant. In this project, GEG will apply well head portable power plant technology.

“If the project is succeeded, Directorate General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation will make policy on the application of well head portable power plant technology for power plants with 2MW or 3MW of capacity in eastern part of Indonesia. We are still analyzing the economic price of the project”, Yunus said.

According to Yunus, as of the middle of September 2016, in total geothermal power plant (PLTP) projects amounted to US$560 million or 58.3% of US$960 million of investment target. Meanwhile, as of September 2016 total capacities of PLTP reached 1,493.5 MW or 90% of 1,653.5 MW of the target in 2016.

Despite the claim that foreign investors are interested in PLTP projects, major investors Chevron and Pacific Indonesia are willing to move out from PLTP projects. Recently, they are offering PLTP Salak and PLTP Derajat, which has 370MW and 240MW of capacities, respectively to other investors. Information has it that 14 investors are interested to buy the projects.

PLTP projects become development focus of government. The World Bank even has given grant to Indonesian government to develop Geothermal Working Area (WKP) Wai Saanok in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara province. The project is expected to start drilling in 2018.

(Muhammad Farid/Translator)

Editor: Dupla Kartini

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