PLN?s renewable energy may only reach 20 percent in 2025
Thursday, January 26 2012 - 02:05 AM WIB
State owned electricity company PLN said that the company?s renewable energy production may only reach 20 percent of its total power production by 2025, below the government?s target of 25 percent.
"At present geothermal and hydropower plants contribute only 11 percent, about six percent from hydropower plants and 5 percent from geothermal power plants,? PLN President Director Nur Pamudji said.
He said that the production of geothermal and hydropower plants could be increased to 19 percent in 2020 and 20 percent in 2025. In order to meet the government?s 25 percent target, PLN would also try to increase production of biomass-based power plants, he added.
Pamudji, however, said that the development of the biomass power plants was hampered by the uncertainty in the biomass supply. He cited that a biomass power plant in Belitung, South Sumatra which uses palm kernel shell as its fuel source, could not operate normally due to the uncertainty in the palm kernel shell.
Besides the lack of the supply, electricity produced from renewable energy is generally more expensive than those generated by coal-fired power plants, he said.
?For Indonesia, which has abundant coal production, such renewable energy is not rational,? he said. But in many countries such as in Thailand, which does not have coal resource, eventhe use of solar energy could become better alternative, he added.
Editing by Roffie Kurniawan