Five geothermal power plants scheduled to start operation 2016

Five geothermal power plants with combined capacity of 270 MW are expected to start operation this year, according to a senior government official.

Director of Geothermal at the Directorate General of New and Renewable Energy, Yunus Saefulhak said in a statement Monday that the five geothermal power plants (PLTPs) included the 110 MW PLTP Sarulla, 55 MW PLTP Lumut Balai, 30 MW PLTP Karaha Bodas, 20 MW PLTP Lahendong Unit 5, and 55 MW PLTP Ulubelu. ?God Willing, they will begin operation this year,? he said.

Yunus, however, said that there is possibility for the operation of the PLTP Lumut Balai to be pushed to January or February 2017 following discovery of landslide potential at the location of the power house, which requires new study, and may force the operator to find a new location.

The operation of the five new geothermal power plants will increase the combined capacity of geothermal power plants in the country, which currently stands at 1,438.5 MW. The government has set a target for the capacity to increase to 7,100 MW by 2025.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak