Executions Update on Indonesia Electrification Program
(Room Nile 1)
20 Sep 17
2:00 PM
-
3:30 PM
Tracks:
Track E - Integration, Storage and Distributed Generation
Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country and needs to send more power to its 255 million residents, spread across 18,000 islands. In rural areas, one-third or more of the population can be without electricity. The government has made upgrading the power part of the plan to boost the economy. Experts calculate that every 1% rise in economic output, increases energy demand by 1.8 %.The electrification goals include increasing power generation capacity by 70 percent. GE is working with PLN Batan to advance the electrification of the country. Instead of building conventional power plants, which can take years, they have deployed “fast power” units to eight sites, on six different islands. These trailer-mounted, TM2500 gas turbine generators, can start producing more than 25 megawatts in less than a month after delivery. This paper will address the challenges and present solutions associated with remote island electrification. Logistics and infra-structure of rural islands present unique challenges. Logistics associated with transporting the units to one site was so remote that GE had to build a temporary jetty to off load the units, which had been sent by barge from Singapore. Once delivered to the island, the mobile design of the TM2500 and pre-designed balance of plant subsystems facilitated the transport to the power plant site. Also, because of the archipelago, there is a need to set up an infra-structure of micro-grids, creating a different set of challenges. All these obstacles, not associated with typical power plant development, are an integral part of bringing electricity to the people of Indonesia. By the end of the first year, the TM2500 power plants were be generating 500 MW of power, enough to supply about 4 million homes.