Indonesia pursues wind power

UPI, July 5, 2012

UPI File Photo/Pat Benic

JAKARTA, July 5 (UPI) -- Indonesia is investing in wind power to cut its import bills of fossil fuels.

State utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara Director Nur Pamudji said his company is eager to see the country's second large-scale wind farm begin operations by the end of 2013.

UPC Renewables Indonesia and Binatek Reka Energi are constructing the $100 million, 50-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Samas in Yogyakarta, which will house 16 to 33 turbines.

Pamudji said, "This will be Indonesia's second wind farm after the one in Sukabumi. It will be the largest. UPC Renewables will study the investment plan and come up with a price. Then we will sign power-purchase agreement," the Jakarta Globe reported Wednesday.

Pamudji added PLN is interested in purchasing electricity from the UPC Renewables Samas wind farm because it would save billions of dollars that would otherwise be spent on costlier fuel imports.

Binatek Reka Energi Director Erwin Jahja said, "This wind power project is safe for the community and will help Indonesia achieve its target for the use of clean energy."

Indonesian Developer Invests $100m in Java Wind Farm

Jakarta Globe, Dion Bisara, April 22, 2012

Related articles

• Indonesia Stands Out in Clean Energy Rise
• Indonesia Bids to Host Future Clean Technology Center
• Indonesian Rupiah Strengthens on Proposed Electricity Price-Hike Delay
• Reality Check in New Indonesian State Budget
• Energy Company Rukun Secures $40m Loan

Wind farm developer UPC Renewables Indonesia plans to invest up to $100 million for a wind farm on the south Java coast to tap into Indonesia’s growing demand for cheaper energy.

The privately held company signed an agreement on Friday with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to build 33 wind turbines off the coast of Samas in Yogyakarta, a special region on the southern side of Java that faces the Indian Ocean. The total capacity of the wind farm will be 50 megawatts.

“This will be a milestone for a wind farm on a commercial scale,” said Kardaya Warnika, director general of renewable energy at the ministry.

UPC Renewables will partner with a local company, Binatek Reka Energi, which has been studying and collecting wind-pattern data on the south Java coast for the past four years.

The agreement for the power purchase has yet to be signed, Kardaya said. UPC Renewables has offered a purchasing period of 30 years at a price of Rp 1,200 (13 cents) per kilowatt hour for the first 20 years and Rp 700 per kWh beyond that.

That compares to an average production cost of Rp 1,100 per kWh last year and an average selling price of Rp 729 per kWh at the state power company, PLN.

Kardaya said UPC Renewables would start erecting the wind turbines once the power purchase agreement had been signed, and planned to use local materials as much as possible in the construction. It plans to complete the project in 15 months.

Steven Zwaan, director of  UPC Renewables, said he hoped the process could be done swiftly so the wind farm could start producing next year. He hopes that success with this project will generate interest to build more facilities across Indonesia.

In PLN’s 2011-20 electricity supply plan, the utility forecast states that Indonesia will needs to provide an additional 55,346 megawatts of power capacity over the next decade, assuming yearly economic growth of 7 percent, at a total investment estimated at $96.2 billion.

The plan outlines an aggressive decline in using oil fuel for the country’s power, shifting to cheaper gas and coal. Renewable energy would comprise 18 percent of total power production by the end of this decade, from just 10 percent currently. Wind energy, however, has yet to be included in the plan.

Indonesia to soon develop renewable energy

Antara News, Fri, April 6 2012 

 "Indonesia has oil reserves of about 4 billion barrels, and it is estimated this will run out within the next 11 years. Therefore, we need to develop renewable energy as soon as possible."

Kardaya Warnika.
(FOTO ANTARA)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will soon develop renewable energy to replace the country`s diminishing oil reserves, according to Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Kardaya Warnika.

"Indonesia has oil reserves of about 4 billion barrels, and it is estimated this will run out within the next 11 years. Therefore, we need to develop renewable energy as soon as possible," Kardaya recently said on the sidelines of a seminar entitled `The Development of New Renewable Energy to Save Fossil Fuel for the Sake of National Resilience`.

Officials note that renewable energy could become a solution for dealing with the energy crisis and maintaining energy resilience.

Currently, the nation receives up to 95 percent of its energy supply from fossil energy, such as oil, natural gas and coal.

The attraction of renewable energy includes its being environmentally friendly, endless and available domestically.

"Investment in oil and gas would require billions of US dollars, while renewable energy needs only billions of rupiahs," he noted.

The government hopes that the development of renewable energy will reach 25 percent of the nation`s needs by 2025. However, subsidies are a factor hampering the development of renewable energy, he added.

The ministry is currently developing 100 megawatts of solar power energy (PLTS) and 50 megawatts of windmill power energy.

A location for the development of PLTS is being looked for, while a windmill power energy plant will be built in Yogyakarta.

Editor: Ella Syafputri

Related Article:

UN, Brazil sign agreement on hosting Conference on Sustainable Development

East Java asked to increase renewable energy projects

Antara News, Tue, January 17 2012

Related News

• US strengthens commitment to renewable energy partnership with RI

Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) of East Java province has asked to local government to increase the number of renewable energy projects.

"East Java is reach in renewable energy resources among others bio-gas, geothermal, wind energy, water and solar energy," local Kadin deputy chairman for energy and mineral resources Nelson Sembiring said at Energy Efficiency Week for the Area of Surabaya on Tuesday.

According to Sembiring, East Java has wider opportunity to optimize renewable energy potential because the province has abundant sources of energy such as geothermal in Ijen and Ngebel, bio-gas in Gresik, Pacitan, and South Malang, and hydro energy that has been used for 10 years in Seloliman.

"From the quantity of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency can reach 7.8 percent or almost close to East Java energy saving target of 12 to 15 percent in 2025," Sembiring said.

He also expressed optimism that the province could reach the energy saving target if it developed as many as five units of micro-hydro project per year with the investment value of Rp30 million per unit.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Indonesia to build first wind farm in W Java

Bernama, 02-MAR-2011, 2 Mar, 2011

A local energy firm, Viron Energy, plans to build the country's first large-scale wind power plant in Sukabumi, West Java, this year, with a total capacity of 30 megawatts, Xinhua news agency reported, citing local media report Tuesday.

State-run power firm PLN renewable energy division head Muhammad Sofyan said last week that the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry had approved the project and the company was waiting for the ministry to issue an official permit to begin construction.

"Next month we'll sign the contract with the developer. The construction will take at least a year," he said after a discussion on alternative energy for industries here Monday.

He said PLN would buy the electricity produced by the firm at 820 rupiah (about 9.2 US cents) per kilowatt-hour.

The price is very good. The cost of producing electricity from oil-based fuels can reach 2,400 rupiah per kilowatt-hour (about 27 cents)," Sofyan was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

The location of the site is suitable for wind power generation as wind speed in the area is more than 6 meters per second, he said.

"The Sukabumi wind power plant will have a total generation capacity of 30 megawatts. But the first stage of the plant to be built will generate 10 megawatts," Sofyan said.

The director general for new and renewable energy and energy conservation at the ministry, Luluk Sumiarso, who also attended the discussion, said that this year would herald rapid development of Indonesia's renewable energy resources.

"Next month, in addition to the wind farm project, the government will also issue three letters ordering PLN to buy power from geothermal producers," he said, adding that he was happy with PLN's commitment to boost the use of alternative and renewable energy.

Many foreign and local investors expressed their interest in developing renewable energy in Indonesia, but the government would begin investing in projects in rural areas to lure private investors, Luluk said.

"We plan to build several solar power plants in rural areas, not only at the household scale, but also at the community scale. We hope the construction of the wind farm can stimulate further investment," he said.

Luluk said the Sukabumi project would be Indonesia's first large-scale wind-generated power plant.

PLN has expressed its commitment to developing renewable energy for electricity, particularly in the eastern part of the country where generating power from oil-based fuels cost Rp 3,000 per kilowatt-hour, Sofyan said.

In that part of the country, the prices of renewable energy are much more competitive, he emphasized.

The Netherlands Offer to Build Windmills

Tempo Interactive, Monday, 30 August, 2010 | 14:38 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Makassar: Wampan, an energy consulting company from the Netherlands, has offered to develop wind-generated power suppliers to the South Sulawesi government. “There is a good wind potential in Sidrap, because the wind speed in the area is over five meters per second,” Daniel S. Pangruruk, Wampan International Consultant Energy director, told Tempo yesterday following a meeting at the residence of the South Sulawesi governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo.

Based on the company’s research, the use of a windmill having a 500/600 kilowatt capacity can reduce the use of oil fuel by 0,3 liter per kWh. This is equal to reducing 60 gram CO2 per kWh or planting 57.000 trees, “Wind-generated electricity is environmentally-friendly,” said Daniel, who is also the technical advisor at the Public Works Ministry in the Netherlands.

Daniel admitted that the initial investment for the construction of a large-scale windmill will be high. To produce 20 MW of electricity from 20 windmills will require US$ 70 million.

This is the main consideration of South Sulawesi governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo. “The initial investment is high. Yet, one of our principles on developing electricity in South Sulawesi is that it should be low cost,” Syahrul said.

However, he feels that if there is any investor willing to fund the construction, he will support the project. According to Syahrul, the use of windmills to produce electricity needs to be developed because it is environmentally-friendly. “Besides, we want electricity to go into areas which still have no access to electricity,” he said.

Syahrul said energy would benefit the Makassar Industrial Zone. “The operational cost will be lower. Let us see if there is any investor who want to collaborate with us,” he said.

He added that he would make sure the interested investor will hire a consulting company to conduct a research and an in-depth survey on the windmill construction. “We still need to carry out a research, at least for one year,’ he said.

Earlier, Daniel had submitted a proposal to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry as well as to a number of regional leaders in other provinces. “But I went to South Sulawesi because the governor read my proposal and I was invited here to elaborate on the plan when we met in the Netherlands,” Daniel said.

FADHILAH NAZIF

UK eyes investment in renewable energy, power

Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 11/05/2009 10:31 AM

British companies are interested in investing in the renewable energy and electricity sectors here, Lord Davies of Abersoch, UK Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business, said during his visit on Wednesday.

As one of the world’s leaders in renewable energy businesses, Lord Davies said British companies would want to expand here seeing the country had managed to cope fairly well with the global economic crisis.

“The minister of energy is very keen on that. And we discussed with him a range of ideas of how we can get more partnership between British and Indonesian companies on renewable energy,” he told reporters after meeting Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Z. Saleh.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s director general for electricity and use of energy J. Purwono pointed to British firm International Power Plc. which has shown interests in a 2x1,000 MW power plant project in Central Java.

“They want to become an IPP [independent power producer] for the 2x1,000 MW project in Central Java,” Purwono said.

As for renewable energy projects, he replied: “We are looking at locations to develop biomass and wind power, among others.”

The UK minister also met Industry Minister MS Hidayat and Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu to discuss increasing bilateral trade between the two countries. Lord Davies said he would invite Indonesian businesspeople to the UK to look for potential partners.

“We agree that we need a symposium on energy and the financing on infrastructure. And we also agree to work with the trade minister where we see examples of protectionism and market access problems,” he said.

Aside from energy and the power sector, British companies are interested in other sectors like life sciences, IT and retails, he said.

In the next few months Lord Davies plans to invite British companies including Royal Dutch Shell plc., BP plc., International Powerplc., Rolls-Royce Group plc. and Star Energy UK Onshore Ltd. to meet Indonesian ministers.

“The challenge for Indonesia is to simplify the regulations, cut the bureaucracy, and move with great speed on energy security, and inward investment,” he said.

According to UK Trade and Investment data, the UK exported about 391 million poundsterlings of goods last year to Indonesia, a 36 percent increase from 2007.

Exports between January and April this year reached 100 million poundsterlings.

The UK imported 1.14 billion poundsterlings of goods in 2008, a slight increase from almost 1 billion pounds sterling a year earlier. Between January and April this year it imported 435 million poundsterlings of goods.

“When you look around Asia … Asia is a collection of different countries with different stages of economic growth. Indonesia is a very exciting opportunity, it will become a key part of the global economy. It’s maturing, it’s growing and it is a very important trading nation now,” said Lord Davies.

Lord Davies plans to invite British companies to meet Indonesian ministers.

Related Article:

What Indonesia Can Expect from Investment with Britain

Minister for the Environment Rejects Nuclear Power Plant

Thursday, 05 March, 2009 | 14:17 WIB 

TEMPO Interactive, Bandung: The Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar, rejected the development plan of the nuclear power plant (PLTN). “It is a pollutant,” he said yesterday. 

He said that Indonesian workers are not ready to manage nuclear plants, and its construction is expensive. With the same budget which is around US$1.2 billion, he prefers to build a geothermal plant rather than a PLTN. 

He said the renewed energy would replace fossil energy. He mentioned that the priority of alternative energies should be geothermal, solar, wind, and plants. He refused the argument that renewed energy is expensive. 

ANWAR SISWADI

Wind turbines fail to generate power

The Jakarta Post, Sat, 12/20/2008 12:11 PM   

Seven wind turbines launched in Nusa Penida, an island southeast of Bali, during the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) in December 2007 have failed to deliver any of their promised power to local residents. 

A solar plant was also opened during the conference, as a demonstration of the administrations commitment to renewable energy. The solar plant continues to perform efficiently, producing up to 30 kilowatts of electricity per hour. The wind farms, however, have stayed silent. 

Head of Nusa Penida district Wayan Sumarta acknowledged that the seven wind plants have never been operational. 

He said he regrets their failure, lamenting the fact that the plants cost billions of rupiah to construct and had not lived up the high hopes locals had for them as an alternative source of energy. 

"It is truly regrettable that a major project like this was not been managed appropriately. Now, they are nothing more than monuments. We expect the government to pay serious attention to them," he said. 

Each wind turbine cost a reported Rp 3.5 billion ($US325,000) to build and had a planned production capacity 80 kilowatts. 

Contacted by phone, spokesperson of the Bali branch of the state-owned electricity company PT PLN, Agung Mustika, denied that the plants have never worked. 

"All of the plants operate normally. If their turbines do not move, they are storing the energy. It doesn't mean they are not functioning," he said. 

PLN financed in part the construction of the plants and is responsible for their operation and maintenance.--JP/Ni Komang Erviani

PTT expanding into palm oil production

New Green Energy unit enters Indonesia

Yuthana Praiwan, Bangkok Post

PTT Plc, the country's largest energy company, is gearing up to invest in a palm oil production plant in Indonesia by acquiring major stakes in the Indonesian palm oil producer PT Mitra Aneka Rezeki (PT MAR). Prasert Bunsumpun, the PTT president and CEO, said that a new wholly owned company called PTT Green Energy Co (PTTGE) would be established to invest in the plantations and crude palm oil production with registered capital of US$28 million or about 942.5 million baht.

PTT's wholly owned subsidiary, Kalimantan Thai Palm Pte (KTP), which was registered in Singapore a few days ago, acquired 95% of PT MAR from former shareholders for $14.725 million.

PT MAR has registered capital of five billion rupiah or 20 million baht, and holds a licence for palm tree plantations in western Kalimantan.

The land covers around 87,500 rai, of which 19,375 rai would be used for commercial palm oil production. Another 31,250 rai are in the early stages of plantation and 36,875 rai would be ready for planting in the future.

Mr Prasert said the Indonesian arm was preparing to construct a new crude palm oil refinery expected to be completed 2011-12.

The company sees great potential for crude palm oil due to rising concern over global warming and soaring fuel prices. It plans to sell most of its output to the local palm oil industry, and export the remainder to Asia.

The company is considering building other plants for upstream crude palm oil products.

Mr Prasert said the move was part of PTT's plan to seek high returns on overseas investment.

Anon Sirisaengtaksin, PTT's senior executive vice-president for corporate strategy and development, said the group had been investing in biofuel for a long time in its bid to tap high global demand.

PTTGE would act as the main vehicle to invest in new businesses for the group, particularity alternative energy and ethanol. It would also help secure raw materials for biodiesel, which faces supply constraints.

Mr Anon would not elaborate on the current production output and the investment value of the Indonesia project.

''We had prepared a long time ago to expand palm oil production in Thailand but the limited plantation land and the process of palm tree farming means the trees take several years to begin producing returns,'' he said.

He added that some of PT MAR's oil output would be imported for PTT's affiliate Thai Oleochemicals, with a daily capacity of 600,000 litres of biofuel (B100).

PTT recently moved to join with the power producer Egco Group to build wind farms and methane energy plants in the provinces.

Biodiesel is a mixture of plant-based oil and diesel that emits fewer greenhouse gasses than pure diesel. However, some environmentalists criticise the move toward biodiesel, saying that it leads to deforestation in tropical rainforests.

PTT shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 310 baht, down six baht, in trade worth 1.2 billion baht.

S. Korean firms net wind power in Sangihe

The Jakarta Post

MANADO (Antara): South Korean firm PT Bonsum will try out wind-powered generators worth some Rp 8 billion (US$846,500) in Sangihe regency, North Sulawesi, a provincial official said Thursday.

"The pilot will be carried out this year with each tower generating 500 watts of electricity," head of the North Sulawesi Investment and Regional Cooperation Board, Vreke Najoan, said.

"The government is upbeat that electricity investment in the region could be realized as North Sulawesi suffers from power shortage."

Currently North Sulawesi suffers a deficit of 60 megawatts (MW) of electricity while the existing supply is 135 MW.

Sangihe is an archipelagic regency on the northern tip of Sulawesi island that borders the Philippines. The wind power project is expected to accelerate development in the regency.

Another South Korean company, PT IR Winpower Co. Ltd., has previously surveyed the feasibility of building wind power generators in Sangihe's Para Island, which still has no electricity yet.

"The study revealed there is a potential of some 6 MW of wind-generated power on the island," said Vreke.

"It is estimated that project will cost some Rp 9 billion or Rp 1.5 billion per 1 MW of wind-generated electricity."

Vreke said the cost would increase if taking into account electricity needs in other islands in the regency.

New power plant might break down

DENPASAR (Jakarta Post): The absence of technology transfer in setting up the wind-powered plant on Nusa Penida Island, Klungkung regency, has raised fears the plant could not be repaired in the event of an accident.

"We fear officials will not be able to repair the plant if it suddenly breaks down. The problem is, when the plant's parts were purchased, they did not come with the necessary technology transfer," Harry Surjadi, executive director of the Society of Indonesian Environment Journalists, told Antara in Denpasar on Wednesday.

Eight parts of the plant's generator were reportedly set up ahead of a visit by delegates from the recent climate change conference.

"The plant should include transfer of technology, but what happened in Nusa Penida was simply a purchase deal," he said.

Hira P. Jhamtani, an activist from the Third World Network, also raised a similar issue, urging developing countries to demand transfer of technology from developed countries.

"With the existence of technology transfers, we can fix anything, including the power plant, when it breaks down," she said.