Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government has targeted three geothermal power plants (PLTP) with a combined capacity of 62 MW will start operating this year.

The three geothermal power plants are PLTP Patuha with a capacity of 55 MW, PLTP Ulumbu with a capacity of 2x2.5 MW, and PLTP Cibuni with a capacity of 2 MW, Director General of Minerals and Coal at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Rida Mulyana said here on Monday.

"Patuha will be the first project under the second phase of the acceleration program to be completed," he said.

The three projects are part of the second phase of the governments program to accelerate the development of 10,000-MW capacity power plants. Under the program, the government intends to build 52 geothermal power plants with a combined capacity of 4,965 MW until 2025.

PLTP Patuha which is located in Pengalengan, West Java, is being built by PT Geo Dipa. The project is entering an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) phase.

"Patuha will operate in June this year," he said.

The government plans to increase the capacity of PLTP Patuha to 110 MW in 2019.

He said PLTP Ulumbu which is located in East Nusa Tenggara province is entering a commissioning phase and will start operating in August 2014.

The unit 1 of PLPT Ulumbu with a capacity of 5 MW has been operating since 2012, he said.

He said PLTP Cibuni which is also located in Pengalengan, West Java, is entering an exploitation phase and will start operating in December 2014.

"The capacity of PLTP Cibuni is expected to increase to 30 MW in 2017," he said.

Rida added only PLTP Mataloko with a capacity of 2.5 MW in East Nusa Tenggara started operating last year. By the end of 2013, geothermal power plants across the country had a total capacity of 1,345.5 MW.

In 2015, the total capacity of geothermal power plants will increase by 35 MW which will come from the unit 5 of PLTP Kamojang-Derajat in West Java, he said.

PLTP Kamojang is operated by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE).

The units 1 to 4 of PLTP Kamojang, with a combined capacity of 200 MW, have been operational, he said.

The government has projected geothermal power plants with a total

capacity of 279 MW will start operating in 2016, 553.5 MW in 2017, and 1,213.5 MW in 2018.

(S012/a014)
Reporting by Kelik Dewanto


Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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