Pertamina Geothermal Energy lowers geothermal development target to 1,112 MW by 2026
Lumut Balai geothermal plant, Indonesia (source: WIKA)
Alexander Richter
21 Dec 2018
Pertamina Geothermal Energy has decreased its geothermal development target to be reached by 2026 to 1, 112 MW from initially planned 2,100 MW. The company cites the long lead time for development as reason, while not indicating it will give up the larger target for the time after 2026.
PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) targets the development capacity of geothermal plants by 2026 to reach 1,112 MW. This projection is lower than the initial planned target of 2,100 MW, as is announced by national news from Jakarta this morning.
“The 1,112 MW figure is a realistic number to be able to achieve to adjust to the corporate parent portfolio. Moreover, geothermal development requires at least five years to finally be able to operate commercially, “said PGE President Director Ali Mundakir in Jakarta.
According to him, to achieve these targets, PGE seeks to develop a number of assets in the existing geothermal working area.
Meanwhile, there are 14 geothermal working areas currently under construction by Pertamina and a number of working areas are already operating commercially. Currently the installed capacity of the PGE PLTP reaches 617 MW originating from geothermal plants, such as the Kamojang Area PLTP in West Java, PGE Ulubelu Unit I & II Area in Lampung, Lahendong Unit IV PLTP in North Sulawesi, and Unit I KTP in West Java .
With the targeted start of the Lumut Balai Unit 1 geothermal power plant in South Sumatra, PGE will add 55 MW to its capacity.
As a result, the installed capacity of Pertamina’s PLTP will increase to 700 MW in 2019. While in 2021 to 2023, the installed capacity of the PGE PLTP will increase by 220 MW. This comes from a number of PGE plants that will operate.
Ali said, geothermal development requires a large investment. In addition, investments in the geothermal sector also have a high risk and return on investment of more than 20 years. The biggest cost of the geothermal business is in the upstream of 60%.
“While the downstream side costs 40%. When compared with fossil energy or coal and water, it is indeed more expensive. This is also one of the obstacles in development, “he said. It plans to optimize existing geothermal power plants (PLTPB). One option will be to use new technology, and the company is exploring options having already signed and Memorandum of Understanding with existing providers for optimization of existing fields.
According to him, for every kilowatt installed costs around USD 5,000 ($5 m/ MW) in development cost.
PT Pertamina (Persero) Finance Director Pahala Mansury said the same thing. According to him, the development of PLTP requires no small amount of money.
This is a challenge for the company. “This condition is a challenge for us and must find a solution to support geothermal investment to be more attractive,” he said
Source: OkeZone
