PLN drills first well at Tulehu geothermal field

State electricity company PLN has successfully drilled the first well at the company?s geothermal field in Tulehu village, Central Maluku, paving the way for the company to build a geothermal power plant in the location, Kontan reported on Thursday.

PLN?s president director Nur Pamudji said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the company planned to build a geothermal plant with a capacity of 2 x 10 megawatt within the Tulehu geothermal field with investment of about UIS$86 million.

He said that about $70 million of the total investment would be financed by soft loans from Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA). ?PLTP Tulehu geothermal plant will have capacity of 2 x 10 MW. The plant is expected to begin commercial operation in early 2015,? he added.

Pamudji said that the Tulehu geothermal field can provide geothermal by up to 40 years, with a capacity of up to 40 MW.

According to him, the operation of the geothermal power plant would enable PLN to reduce fuel oil expenses by about Rp 250 billion a month or about Rp 3 trillion a year.

In addition to the Tulehu geothermal field, PLN has also been awarded to develop a geothermal concession in West Nusa Tenggara.(*)