ABB to help strengthen Indonesia's power grid

ABB has won an order worth more than $40 million from a consortium comprising Doosan Heavy Industries and state-owned construction company PT Hutama Karya to upgrade and expand the Muara Tawar combined cycle power plant in West Java, Indonesia. The innovative project will add 650 MW of electricity to the national grid.

In order to improve the efficiency of the plant and provide clean energy to the greater Jakarta area, the current 1150 MW gas-fuelled generator will be converted to a 1800 MW combined-cycle power plant.

The combined-cycle power plant uses both gas and steam turbines to produce more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby steam turbine, which generates extra power. The power plant is operated by Indonesia’s national power utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).

Indonesia is the world’s fourth most-populous country and one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. This has spurred the need for electricity, and according to PLN, demand is projected to grow at around 8.5% per annum between 2015 and 2025. In response, the government has outlined a plan to add 35,000 MW of new power generation capacity between 2015 and 2019.

Indonesia aims to have 99.7% of households in the country connected to the nation’s electricity grid by 2025, which would require an additional power generation capacity of over 80 GW. The country is also targeting 23% renewables in its energy mix by 2025. The Muara Tawar upgrade and conversion to a combined cycle power plant will contribute significantly to these goals.

“ABB has a long-standing presence, expanding footprint and proven track record in Indonesia, and we are pleased to contribute further to the development of the country’s power infrastructure to serve the country’s growing economy and vibrant population,” said Claudio Facchin, president of ABB’s Power Grids division. “We are proud to be a part of this innovative project which supports our vision of enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid.”

As part of the turnkey project, ABB is responsible for the design, engineering, installation and commissioning of supporting components and auxiliary systems of the plant. ABB will also supply a 500 kV air-insulated switchgear (AIS) substation. Key product supplies include generator circuit breakers, medium- and low-voltage switchgear as well as transformers and protection equipment.