UPC Renewables to build 70 MW wind farm in Sulawesi

Leading global wind farm developer UPC Renewables plans to build a giant wind farm with a capacity of 70 MW in Sidenreng Rappang (Sidrap) regency in South Sulawesi with financing from the US government-owned financial firm Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

The letter of cooperation for the provision of financing for the project was signed on Thursday by Elizabeth L Littlefield OPIC?s President and CEO, and‎ Brian Caffyn, President Director of PT UPC Sidrap Bayu Energy, the UPC Renewables subsidiary that handles the project.

The signing ceremony was held at the main office of public utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) (PLN) in the presence of the US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert Blake and PLN?s President Director Sofyan Basir.

The signing of the letter of cooperation followed a decision by the OPIC Board of Directors in March 2016 to approve the proposal to provide up to US$120 million for the financing of construction, commissioning and operation of the power plant.

PLN?s Director of Procurement Supangkat Iwan Santoso said the PLTB Sidrap project is a testament to PLN?s seriousness in supporting the government?s program of promoting the development of renewable energy. ?The power from PLTB Sidrap will be distributed to meet the power needs of Sidrap and surrounding areas,? Supangkat said.

PLTB Sidrap is larger than the 50 MW PLTB Samas which is being developed in Yogyakarta. PLTB Sidrap will consist of 30 wind turbines each with a capacity of 2.5 MW. The process of land acquisition for the project started in 2015.

?The wind farm is scheduled to come into operation in May 2017,? he said, adding the project is being developed by UPC Renewables in partnership with PT Binatek Energy Terbarukan.

Caffyn said PLTB Sidrap is the first utility-scale wind farm project in Indonesia. ?UPC is proud of being able to bring a new form of power plant to Indonesia with affordable prices and expects to replicate this success in other projects and provide low-cost renewable energy for PLN and the Indonesian people,? he said.

The Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) for the project was signed by UPC Renewables and PLN on Aug. 18, 2015

Editing by Johannes Simbolon