OREANDA-NEWS. Sumitomo Corporation (head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; president: Kuniharu Nakamura) has been awarded an EPC contract by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy, a geothermal energy subsidiary of Indonesia’s oil, gas, renewable and new energy company PT Pertamina, for Units 5 and 6 (“the Units”; power generating capacity: 40 MW [20 MW x 2 units]) at the Lahendong Geothermal Area.

The Units that will be constructed is located in Minahasa district, central part of North Sulawesi Province, at the northern part of Sulawesi Island in the Republic of Indonesia and the Contractor shall be by the consortium of Sumitomo Corporation and PT Rekayasa Industri (“Rekayasa”), a leading engineering company in Indonesia. Sumitomo Corporation has constructed and delivered Lahendong Unit 2, 3 and 4 power stations (20 MW for each unit) to PT PLN (Persero), Indonesia's state-owned power company at this geothermal area and will put those experiences to execute this project.
The primary equipment - the geothermal steam turbines and the power generators - will be manufactured by Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (“Fuji”), which has high-level technical capabilities and a wealth of experience in geothermal power generation facilities, while construction/installation of the Units and steamfield above ground system will be the responsibility of Rekayasa. Unit 5 will take 22 months and Unit 6 will take 28 months to build, so construction should be completed by September 2016 and March 2017 respectively. Funding for this project will be covered with a loan from the World Bank.

Sumitomo Corporation has joined with its partners Fuji and Rekayasa in focusing on geothermal power generation projects in Indonesia. This latest contract is the eleventh undertaking for a geothermal power generation project in Indonesia, the previous one being undertook from August 2014 for Unit 3 and 4 (55 MW x 2 units) at Ulubelu Geothermal Area.

Indonesia has the world’s largest resources of geothermal energy and its potential geothermal capacity is estimated to be 29,000 MW. However, presently only about 5% of that potential is used for power generation. Under these circumstances, the Indonesian government is planning new projects to increase geothermal power generation by about 4,900 MW by 2019.

Sumitomo Corporation has been engaged in the construction and delivery of geothermal power stations in Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Iceland, Turkey, and other countries, and their total combined capacity including under construction reaches nearly 2,400 MW. This is equivalent to approximately 20% of the total capacity of geothermal power stations currently in operation around the world.

In Indonesia, the Units will increase the total capacity of the projects that Sumitomo Corporation has been involved in to almost 820 MW.

Based on its proven track record and experience in this business, Sumitomo Corporation, in close collaboration with its partners, will make further efforts to win contracts for geothermal power generation projects in Indonesia and other countries, to support environmentally-friendly energy infrastructure development around the world.