Bengkulu to build 100 MW coal-fired power plant

The provincial administration of Bengkulu has planned to build a 100-Megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant this year, Bisnis Indonesia newspaper reported in its Thursday edition quoting Antara news agency.

?We are currently undertaking a survey on the power plant in cooperation of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT),? provincial energy and mineral resources agency head Aminuddin N.S. said in Bengkulu on Wednesday.

This project will be funded by investors from China. But Aminuddin didn?t disclose the total cost of the project.

The power plant, according to Aminuddin, will use low-quality coals with a calorie content of 5,500 per ton, which are plentiful in North Bengkulu and South Bengkulu regencies.

He said Bengkulu has an estimated 34 million tons in reserve of such type of coal, which will be able to supply coal for at least 35 years to the 100 MW plant.

Such type of coal sells cheap on the market. As such, no investors are interested to produce them, he said. (*)