BPPT ties up with PLN to develop small-scale power pants

The government?s agency for studies and application of technologies BPPT will develop small-scale power plants in cooperation with the state owned Electricity Company PLN. The power plants, which will have a capacity of 2 x 6 MW will use low-energy coal as its fuel, Suara Karya reported on Tuesday.

The cooperation agreement was signed in Jakarta on Friday by BPPT deputy chairman Rachmat Mulyadi, the president director of PLN?s subsidiary PT Indonesia Power. State Research Minister Hatta Rajasa witnessed the signing of the cooperation agreement.

The first project would be developed in Berau regency in East Kalimantan in cooperation with PT Berau Coal, which agreed to supply the coal for the power plant.

Hatta Rajasa said that the development of small-scale power plants was important to spur economic activities in rural areas, especially those which have not yet received significant electricity supply from PLN. He hoped that such small power plants would also be able to solve the acute shortage of power supply in many parts of the country.

Firdaus Akmal said that several regencies had expressed their interest to cooperate in the development of small-scale power plants. "At least three regencies have asked us to cooperate in building the small-scale power plants," he added. (*)