ThinkGeoEnergy – Geothermal Energy News

Pertamina to start ORC geothermal pilot plant at Lahendong

PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy is about to start operation of a 500 kW ORC geothermal pilot plant at the geothermal field of Lahendong, Indonesia.

PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy has targeted to start a 500kW small-scale geothermal power plant in Lahendong South Sulawesi by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) by the end of February 2022. This project is a pilot plant of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) or binary technology implementation in one of PGE geothermal areas in order to optimize the utilization of geothermal energy in Lahendong. Furthermore, the optimization of geothermal energy use is carried out by utilizing the heat from brine which was previously directly injected into the earth. Thus, the implementation of this technology does not require additional geothermal well to generate electricity. In return, the project is hoped to be completed in a faster timeframe and at a lower investment cost.

This project was started in early of the 2nd semester 2021. PGE has chosen Kaishan from China as the sole provider of the power plant and Yokogawa as the project contractor. All parts and materials have been arrived (ETA site) in Lahendong since December 2021. Despite the unfavourable conditions due to Covid-19 pandemic, PGE continued the construction works and made significant progress. Currently, the project is entering the final stages of the construction phase. With commissioning scheduled within next week, the ORC Unit will increase the generation capacity of Lahendong to 120.5 MW.

In addition, the use of electricity produced by the power plant is not for commercial purpose. Later, the electricity will be generated for own use to meet the internal consumption of a total 5 brine centrifugal pumps located near the ORC Unit.

The successful implementation of binary technology in Lahendong is planned to be replicated in other PGE geothermal areas. Currently, the total installed capacity in all PGE geothermal area throughout Indonesia is 1.877MW, of which 672MW is managed and operated by PGE while the remaining 1.205MW is managed and operated by partners through the Joint Operation Contract scheme. This is what makes PGE one of the largest and key players in geothermal industry in the world.

Source: Pertamina Geothermal Energ

Exit mobile version