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Foreign power plant manufacturers aim for RI geothermal projects
International power plant designers and manufacturers are aiming to participate in the geothermal projects being prepared under the second phase of the government’s electricity fast track program
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nternational power plant designers and manufacturers are aiming to participate in the geothermal projects being prepared under the second phase of the government’s electricity fast track program.
Among these companies are Paris-based power plant equipment producers Alstom and New Zealand-based engineering consultants Beca, the companies’ executives said on the sidelines of the World Geothermal Congress 2010 held this week in Nusa Dua, Bali.
Frederic Sauze, Alstom’s general manager for geothermal business, said that the company was establishing a new geothermal unit at its existing power plant equipment factory in Surabaya.
The factory, which is managed by Alstom’s subsidiary Alstom Power ESI, produces power plant boilers and heat recovery system generators (HRSG) both for domestic and export purposes. “Now, we begin recruiting people to start a new geothermal unit at the factory,” Sauze said.
Alstom is preparing the unit to prepare for the potential geothermal projects to be secured in the future.
Sauze said the firm was willing to take a part in geothermal power plant construction tenders in Indonesia.
“We are looking at any developers who want to develop geothermal in Indonesia. We expect that the very first tender for us will be out by the end of this year.” he said.
Alstom constructed the 2x20 megawatt (MW) Lahendong geothermal plant in North Sulawesi.
Indonesia so far only generates 1,196 MW from geothermal sources, about 4 percent of the total potential. The government expects to generate 3,977 MW more from geothermal sources in the second phase of the government’s fast track electricity generation program.
The second 10,000 MW program was originally planned to be completed in 2014. State power firm PT PLN which manages about half of the projects in the program said it would open the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) tenders for the projects as soon as funding was secured.
The tenders will not only provide opportunities for construction companies like Alstom, but also for engineering consultants like the New Zealand-based Beca.
“Normally, an engineering consultant gets between 5 and 10 percent of the total value of the project,” Hamish Brookie, Beca’s geothermal power generation technical director, said. He that the company was looking to get involved in designing the power plants. “We are actively marketing our services and designs to get involved,” Brookie said.
Beca was the engineering consultant for the 100 MW Kawerau and the 140 MW Nga Awa Purua geothermal power plant projects in New Zealand. In Indonesia, the company has a local subsidiary: PT Bimatekno Karyatama Konsultan.
The subsidiary was also an engineering consultant for some major property development projects such as Pacific Place, Ciputra World, and The British International School in Jakarta. The company was also involved in designing a nickel processing facility owned by PT Inco in Sulawesi.” he said.
