Indonesia’s PLN to Build 18 CBM Plants

State electric company, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), plans to build 18 coal-bed methane (CBM) plants in the western part of Indonesia in an effort to bring the areas more electricity at a lower price.

Total estimated cost is $250 million, which will bring 101 megawatts online to Sumatra and Kalimantan.

CBM is natural gas extracted from coal seams. Developed countries, including the United States and Canada, have tapped it as a source of energy.

A study from the Energy Ministry estimates that Indonesia holds reserves of 453 trillion cubic feet of the fuel, enough to make it the largest CBM producer in the world.

Harry Jaya Pahlawan, PLN’s operations director for the region said that the CBM plants would help reduce operational costs, since the fuel was cheaper than the diesel used to generate electricity in some of the power plants on the two islands.

Dahlan Iskan, PLN’s president director, said that as the company builds more efficient plants, it will close diesel facilities to save money.

There are currently no operating CBM plants in the country, but some are already under construction and should come online, at least at partial capacity, this year.  The remainder of the plants should be completed in 2012.

Source: Jakarta Globe