NZ firm partners with Alstom in bidding for geothermal plant in Indonesia
Wayang Windu Unit II, West Java, Indonesia (source: Aecom)
Alexander Richter
14 Aug 2013
New Zealand based construction firm Hawkins is partnering with French giant Alstom in a bid to build the Karaha Bodas geothermal power plant in West Java for state-owned Pertamina Geothermal Energy. The project might involve additional companies from New Zealand.
The New Zealand geothermal sector has been increasingly approaching markets in proximity for development activities, so it is not surprising to now hear about a recent partnership of Auckland-based construction company Hawkins with French electricity giant Alstom.
Both companies are joining their forces in a bid to build the planned Karaha Bodas geothermal power plant in West Java, Indonesia for state-owned Pertamina Geothermal Energy.
In a statement, Bernard Hill, Energy Manager for Hawkins, said that “if successful a consortium of companies from New Zealand would be brought in”, providing engineering, subcontracting, legal, banking and insurance expertise into the project.
The Indonesian project would be the first overseas geothermal construction for Hawkins.
So far geothermal activities in Indonesia have stalled due to unclear pricing and regulatory framework, but with the “establishment of a new wholesale pricing regime, as well as streamlined regulations to improve access to forestry areas”, things will likely pick up sharply.
There are also various incentives being evaluated, among them coverage on custom duties and import tax exemptions for international players.
The New Zealand geothermal sector has a rather strong history in Indonesian geothermal development, being involved not only in the country’s first geothermal power plant at Kamojang, and the Wayang Windu project. But in the latter case, a NZ investment firm wrote off NZ$420 after the 1997 financial crisis. But this doesn´t affect the interest of NZ firms for looking at the many opportunities offered by Indonesian geothermal development.
For further details see link below.
The current drive for the NZ geothermal sector is lead by Geothermal New Zealand, a collaboration of the geothermal energy sector in New Zealand focused on creating business opportunities for NZ companies internationally. The group can be found here.
Source: Stuff.co.nz
