PLN to build more coal-fired power plants

State-owned power utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is seeking an additional 28 million metric tons of coal per year after the government ordered it to build additional coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 7,000 megawatts, The Jakarta Globe reported on Saturday.

?Every 1,000 megawatt of power capac?ity consumes 4 million tons of coal a year,? PLN coal director Helmi Najamuddin said on Friday.

The government initially planned to add 10,000 megawatts under its second fast-track program, with around 60 percent initially intended to be sourced from renewable energy such as geothermal and hydropower, while coal was to account for a smaller portion. However, last month the government revealed that it would increase the capacity to 15,000 megawatts, with coal making up the additional 5,000 megawatts.

Should everything go according to plan, coal-fired power plants will generate a total of 7,000 megawatts per year.

The government has asked PLN to rely less on diesel for power-generation and to make more use of cheaper energy sources such as coal.

Helmi said PLN will prepare a tender to seek coal supplies, should the government issues the relevant regulation.

According to him, electricity generated from coal-fired power plants only costs around Rp 350 (4 cents) per kilowatt hour which is sig?nificantly lower than the cost of power generated from diesel fuel, which is Rp 2,080 per kilowatt hour.

At the moment, around 60 percent of Indonesian electricity is produced by coal-fired power plants. (*)