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PGE plans to start commercial operations of 55 MW Lumut Balai geothermal plant by July 2019

PGE plans to start commercial operations of 55 MW Lumut Balai geothermal plant by July 2019 Lumut Balai geothermal plant, Indonesia (source: WIKA)
Carlo Cariaga 17 May 2019

Nearing the completion of commissioning and testing, PGE is targeting a July 2019 start of commercial operations for Unit 1 of the Lumut Balai geothermal project

PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) President Ali Mundakir has announced that they are planning to start commercial operations of the 55 MW Lumut Balai Unit 1 geothermal power plant on July 2019. Currently, the power plant has achieved 99% completion in commissioning and testing. The Lumut Balai geothermal project is located in Muara Enim, South Sumatra, Indonesia.

According to Ali, PGE will immediately conduct a tender for the procurement and construction of Lumut Balai Unit 2 once Unit 1 is operational. They are targeting that the tenders be completed within this year. Lumut Balai Unit 2 has been designed to also have a 55 MW capacity.

Lumut Balai Unit 1 is only one of four geothermal power plants in Indonesia scheduled to commence operations in 2019. The three other plants are in Sorik Merapi, Sokoria, and Muaralaboh.

PGE also has several other geothermal development projects in the pipeline in  bid to generate an additional 1100 MW by 2026. In addition to Lumut Balai Units 2 and 3, the ongoing projects of PGE include the Tulehu geothermal project in Suli, Maluku and the Hululais plant in Lebong, Bengkulu.

Source: Katadata