PT Medco Power planning additional geothermal projects as part of renewables push
As part of wider renewable energy development plants, PT Medco Power in Indonesia, is planning to continue its push on geothermal development with expansion at Sarulla, the further development of Ijen and the third project of Bonjol.
PT Medco Power Indonesia (MPI) aims to increase the capacity of its managed power plants to 5,000 MW in the next five years, as reported last week in Indonesia. This subsidiary of PT Medco Power International Tbk will also focus on the energy transition and the use of new and renewable energy (EBT) for the plants it will manage.
President Director of PT Medco Power Indonesia, Eka Satria, currently MPI manages and operates 3,796 MW both through its own power plant (IPP) and operation and maintenance (O&M) services. He is optimistic that the increase in capacity to 5,000 MW in the next five years can be realized, in line with Medco Power’s incessant efforts in working on EBT-based power plants.
Eka said, electricity plays a central role in fulfilling energy. With the economy and industry growing after Covid-19, the demand for EBT-based electricity will also increase. Moreover, the potential for NRE in Indonesia is very high, and there is a target to fulfill the NRE mix of 23% by 2025.
“The pillar of the economy and life is electricity. We believe that after Covid-19 ends, electricity growth will increase again and future demand will be clean. We will focus on the clean and renewable energy portfolio,” said Eka in an online media gathering last week.
Medco Power will also focus on developing six types of clean energy. Namely gas / LNG to power, geothermal, solar energy, hydro and mini hydro energy, wind energy, to enter the electric vehicle ecosystem (EV). Overall, there are four business pillars of Medco Power, namely gas to power, geothermal, renewables and O&M services.
Eka explained, from the geothermal side, Medco Power currently has three projects.
First, the Sarulla Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) with a capacity of 330 MW. Eka said, the PLTP with the largest single contract in the world will continue to be developed into the next phase.
Second , PLTP Ijen with a capacity of 2 x 55 MW which is currently still under development and exploration. The target is commercial operation (COD) for unit 1 in 2024 and for unit 2 in 2026.
The third geothermal project is Bonjol with a potential capacity of 60 MW. “We are still trying to find new assets that can be developed,” said Eka.
Not only in terms of electricity generation, Medco Power is also exploring the EV Ecosystem to meet the needs of electric vehicles. The target is that the Medco Power EC ecosystem will be built in Jakarta, Batam and Bali.
Source: Kontan