Local, Chinese Firms Propose Solar Plant Costing $200m

Jakarta Globe, July 19, 2012

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Chinese state company Shanghai Aerospace Automobile Electromechanical and a local solar panel firm, Basel Investindo, have announced plans to build a 200 megawatt solar power plant, with a total investment of $200 million.

The president director of Basel Investindo, Edwin Henawan Soekowati, said Indonesia should be one of the countries with the most potential to utilize solar power, thanks to its tropical climate.

He said Indonesia should be serious in developing renewable energy such as solar power as its oil reserves dwindle.

“Indonesia is now a net importer of oil. Looking forward, fossil fuel is getting more expensive. Now the government is chasing coal, but that will also run out one day. That’s why solar panel technology must be developed,” Edwin said.

He said Basel and SAAE had signed a memorandum of understanding with the directorate general for renewable energy at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. The signing was done at a renewable energy exhibition in Jakarta.

“The Chinese state company has expertise in making solar panels ... this kind of technology suits the need of Indonesia’s rural areas, which have not yet been touched by electricity,” he said.

The $600 million plant will be built in Indonesia’s eastern region.

Edwin admitted that the cost of building a solar-powered plant was more expensive than a coal-fired power plant. He said it would cost $3 million per megawatt of electricity capacity generated from solar panels, while using coal only costs $1.5 million per megawatt.

However, he argued that solar panels were cheaper to maintain.

Apart from Basel, Sharp, Samsung and Infinity are also developing solar panel technology in Indonesia.

Investor Daily