Indonesia to break ground on 330-MW geothermal plant in Jun

May 29, 2014 - Construction of the 330-MW Sarulla geothermal scheme in Indonesia will be initiated in June, the country's economic minister Chairul Tanjung told reporters yesterday, as cited by Reuters.

The consortium behind the long-delayed USD-1.6-billion (EUR 1.2bn) scheme reached financial close earlier this month. The project was launched in 1990 but was delayed by the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

The Sarulla geothermal complex will be owned by Sarulla Operations Ltd, in which Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power Co (TYO:9508) and Itochu Corp (TYO:8001) will each own a 25% stake. US-based Ormat Technologies Inc (NYSE:ORA) will hold 12.75%, while the remaining interest will be in the hands of power generation company PT Medco Power Indonesia.

The 330-MW geothermal power plant on the island of Sumatra will be developed in three phases of 110 MW each. The first phase of the complex is to kick off commercial operations in 2016. The second and third phases are to follow suit in 18 months. The plant's output will be sold to local utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara under a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.735)

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