PLN expects Bedugul geothermal plant to start commercial operation 2015
Wednesday, August 1 2012 - 02:55 AM WIB
State-owned electricity company PLN expects the Bedugul geothermal power plant in Tabanan, Bali, to start commercial operation in 2015, a few years delay from the original schedule amid lingering local protest.
The project, developed by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) and Bali Energy Ltd (BEL), has completed exploration stage and is preparing to enter construction and exploitation phase. In addition, the necessary financing for the project has also been secured from various sources.
The main obstacle is the lingering opposition from the local legislative council (DPRD) and various components of the community on grounds that the project will cause harm to the local environment and hurt the feeling of the Hindu people. This is because the project will be developed within a 53.58 hectares of protected forest considered sacred by the Hindu people in Bali.
?We have continued to approach various elements of the community so that the project could be operated,? said Head of the New Energy and Renewable Energy at PLN, Muhammad Sofyan, on Wednesday.
Sofyan said that the lingering protest has caused a few years delay in the commercial operation of the geothermal power plant project. PLN and the developers signed the energy sales contract of the project in 2004.
?Under the 2011-2020 RUPTL (Electricity Supply General Plan), we targeted the project to be already in commercial operation in 2015 with a capacity of 1x10 MW,? added Sofyan.
The Bedugul geothermal power plant is located about 30 km north of the provincial capital of Denpasar. The project is being developed under a joint operation contract between PGE and BEL, under which BEL will obtain 96 percent of the profit, and PGE the remaining 4 percent portion.
The power plant, once reaching commercial operation, is expected to be able to supply electricity in Bali, which to date has been relying on supply from Java through undersea cable network.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak