Pertamina Geothermal to invest $432m

PT Petamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), a subsidiary of state owned oil and gas firm PT Petamina, will invest US$432 million to develop its eight working areas, Directorate General of New Renewable Energy and Conservation (EBTK) said in a statement on Friday.

The funds will be used to complete the development of the ongoing power plant projects and for maintenance of the existing power plants.

?Besides, we shall carry out exploration in Bukit Daun area in Bengkulu,? PGE?s President Director Rony Gunawan was quoted as saying.

Rony said PGE has targeted its combined capacity to reach 2,300 MW by 2015. At present, the firm has a combined capacity of 402 MW. Several projects are ongoing with a combined capacity of 655 MW. Meanwhile, projects with a combined capacity of 1,210 MW are being prepared for execution.

?Once all the projects have been completed, PGE?s total capacity will rise to 2.3 GW,? Rony said.

This year, the firm is expected to complete the construction of the Unit 5 of PLTP Kamojang with a capacity of 35 MW. The construction has reached 60.5 percent completion and is expected to be completed in July this year. Starting in July this year, the combined capacity of the geothermal power plants owned by PGE will thus increase by 35 MW to 437 MW, according to Rony.

Next year, several projects will come onstream, namely the Unit 3 of PLTP Ulubelu with a capacity of 55 MW, the Unit 1 of PLTP Lumut Balai with a capacity of 55 MW, the Unit 5 and 6 of PLTP Lahendong each with a capacity of 20 MW and the Unit 1 of PLTP Karaha with a capacity of 30 MW.

In 2017, several other projects will also come onstream, namely the Unit 1 of PLTP Hululais with a capacity of 55 MW, the Unit 4 of PLTP Ulubelu with a capacity of 55 MW.

Next, in 2018, the Unit 2 of PLTP Lumut Balai will come onstream in 2018 with a capacity of 55 MW , so will the Unit 2 of PLTP Hululais with a capacity of 55 MW.

?By 2018, PGE will have a combined capacity of 847 MW,? Rony said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon