Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (third left) inaugurates on Nov. 9, 2023, the Cirata floating photovoltaic power plant in Purwakarta, West Java, along with representatives from developers PLN Nusantara Power and United Arab Emirates renewable energy company Masdar. — Reuters/The Jakarta Post
JAKARTA: Indonesian state electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy firm Masdar are cooperating on green hydrogen opportunities as well as a joint study to expand the Cirata floating photovoltaic power plant, the largest in South-East Asia.
Masdar chief executive officer Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, PLN president director Darmawan Prasodjo and PLN Nusantara Power president director Ruly Firmansyah inked a cooperation agreement on Monday, on the sidelines of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Under the deal, the two sides committed to exploring the potential of green hydrogen that they claimed held significant promise in decarbonising hard-to-abate industries like steel manufacturing, construction, transportation and aviation.
“Continuing our collaboration with PLN, we aim to lead innovation in solar power, green hydrogen and other critical areas to support the energy transition in this region,” Al Ramahi said in a statement.
The deal includes a framework for a joint study aimed at tripling the capacity of the Cirata floating solar plant, which is located on the 200ha Cirata Reservoir in Purwakarta, West Java, to 500MW from currently 145MW.
In September, Masdar and PLN signed a separate agreement on the plant’s expansion, dubbed phase two of the Cirata solar plant development project.
The Public Works and Housing Ministry revised a regulation in August to allow solar power plants to cover up to 20% of a reservoir’s surface area, a four-fold increase from the previous cap of 5%.
“As the world seeks urgent climate crisis solutions during COP 28, we need more visionary projects like Cirata,” Al Ramahi said.
South-East Asia is deemed a primary investment destination for Masdar, according to Al Ramahi, who cited the region’s robust economies and abundant renewable energy potential.
He also highlighted that the UAE and Indonesia had the potential to emerge together as production hubs for green hydrogen.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurated the US$143mil solar plant on Nov 9, following its completion over a three-year development phase.
The funding was sourced from three multinational banks: Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, France’s Societe Generale and the United Kingdom’s Standard Chartered.
The Cirata plant currently generates sufficient renewable energy to supply electricity to 50,000 homes and to reduce Indonesia’s carbon emissions by 214,000 tonnes annually.
Masdar, which also operates solar power plants in the UAE, is owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Mubadala Investment Co and the Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.
The company aims to achieve a renewable energy portfolio of 100GW and an annual production capacity of one million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
