W. Sumatra to build 5 geothermal power plants

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta,  Fri, 08/26/2011

West Sumatra administration has announced plans to construct five geothermal power plants in its 2011-2015 development plan.

The construction projects would be fully financed by the central government, West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno said Friday in Padang.

Irwan added that his administration planned to build one power plant every year so that the five plants would be ready by 2015.

The administration also plans to build another 25 biomass power plants that will utilize urban and rural waste for energy production.

Irwan said his administration planned to build the five biomass power plants gradually. The construction of these plants would also rely on funding from the central government, he said.

Meanwhile, the administration also plans to develop 3,000 small-sized solar plants and 10 micro-hydro power plants using funding from the state budget, over the same development period.