Marubeni wins tender for EPC contract for Patuha project, West Java
Kawah Putih, Patuha Volcano, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia (source: flickr/ Marzuki Kamal, ceative commons)
Alexander Richter
20 Sep 2011
Announced last week by state utility PLN, Japanese Marubeni has won a tender for engineering, procurement and construction work for a geothermal power plant in Patuha, Bandung in West Java.
Reported early last week, “Japanese trading house Marubeni has won a tender for engineering, procurement and construction work on a geothermal plant in West Java, an official from state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara said last week.
“The winner [for the tender] is Marubeni. They will receive the letter of intent soon,” Murtaqi Syamsudin, the director of business and risk management at PLN, said last week.
He did not disclose the value of the contracts secured by Marubeni.
The plant, which will be located in Patuha, Bandung, will be owned by state company Geo Dipa Energy. PLN will buy the electricity produced by the plant at 6.8 cents per kilowatt hour. The government has set a maximum price for geothermal-generated electricity at 9.7 cents per kilowatt hour.
This will be the first plant under Geo Dipa’s ownership.
The Patuha plant is part of the second phase of a project to add 10,000 megawatts of electricity to PLN’s capacity. About 40 percent of that target is expected to be sourced from geothermal energy.
The government has set a target of tapping renewable energy, particularly geothermal, to aid in the country’s development. Indonesia is estimated to have about 28,000 megawatts of geothermal power reserves — about 40 percent of the world’s potential reserves — thanks to the country’s abundant volcanoes.
According to the Geo Dipa Web site, the Patuha plant — which is located near Mount Patuha in Bandung — has 400 megawatts equivalent in geothermal reserves, which could be enough to supply electricity to 60,000 households.
Murtaqi said the electricity stream from Patuha would be added to the electricity grid for Java and Bali, the islands that generate the majority of Indonesia’s electricity demand. According to the plan, the project will start producing power in 2013, the director said.
Geo Dipa sought $600 million in investment to finance its Patuha and Dieng geothermal projects. It secured $103 million in loans from state-run Bank Negara Indonesia last year to fund the first part of the Patuha project.”
Source: The Jakarta Globe
