Indonesia pursues wind energy

State utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara Director Nur Pamudji said his company is eager to see the country’s second large-scale wind farm begin operations by the end of 2013.

UPC Renewables Indonesia and Binatek Reka Energi are constructing the $100 million, 50-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Samas in Yogyakarta, which will house 16 to 33 turbines.

Pamudji said, "This will be Indonesia’s second wind farm after the one in Sukabumi. It will be the largest. UPC Renewables will study the investment plan and come up with a price. Then we will sign power-purchase agreement," the Jakarta Globe reported Wednesday.

Pamudji added PLN is interested in purchasing electricity from the UPC Renewables Samas wind farm because it would save billions of dollars that would otherwise be spent on costlier fuel imports.

Binatek Reka Energi Director Erwin Jahja said, "This wind power project is safe for the community and will help Indonesia achieve its target for the use of clean energy."

The plan outlines an aggressive decline in using oil fuel for the country’s power, while shifting to cheaper gas and coal. Renewable energy would comprise 18 percent of total power production by the end of this decade, from just 10 percent currently. Wind energy, however, has yet to be included in the plan.

PLN is working out a deal that could give Indonesia a wind farm in Yogyakarta, near the southern coast of Java and facing the Indian Ocean. This would be the second such wind farm in the country, following one in Sukabumi, West Java.

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