PLTS Kupang to come onstream next year

A solar power plant (PL TS) now being built in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara with a capacity of 5 MW is scheduled to come onstream next year, the Directorate General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) said in a statement on Monday.

The power plant is the largest among six solar power plant projects now under construction in line with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) Regulation No. 17/2013. The regulation has been annulled by the Supreme Court but the development of the six projects continue since the projects have been auctioned. The ministry is drafting a new MEMR regulation to provide a legal basis for the projects.

Five other projects namely PLTS Atambua (1 MW), PLTS Sumba Timur (1 MW), PLTS Maumere (2 MW), all located in East Nusa Tenggara; PLTS Gorontalo (2 MW) in Gorontalo; and PLTS Kotabaru (2 MW) in South Kalimantan.

The five projects will come onstream after the operation of PLTS Kupang, EBTKE Director General Rida Mulyana said, without providing any timeframes.

All the six projects have a total capacity of 13 MWp with a total investment of Rp 287.4 billion, according to Rida.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon