ABB has provided an advanced distribution solution to ensure Southeast Asia's largest floating solar plant can provide reliable, clean energy to 50,000 Indonesian homes. A new 250-hectare floating solar power plant located in Indonesia's Chirata Reservoir, West Java, was recently inaugurated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
It is one of several floating solar power plants built on top of existing hydroelectric plants to ensure efficient and stable electricity generation. According to a study published in the journal Nature, covering just 10 percent of the world's hydroelectric reserves with floating solar panels could generate about 1 percent of the planet's fossil fuel power plants. In order to achieve 23% renewable energy production in Indonesia by 2025 , it is important to increase the level of integration of renewable energy sources into the energy system.
The Sirata power plant project is a collaboration between PT PLN Nusantara Power and the Indonesian government through renewable energy company Masdar in Abu Dhabi. Working with site engineers, ABB successfully installed, tested and commissioned the project's first air-insulated (AIS) medium voltage (MV) switchgear, with a maximum capacity of 192 megawatts (MW). ). It is around 30 times larger than Europe's largest floating solar farm located in the Alceva reservoir in Portugal.
The 100m-deep Kirata Dam's anchors and bolts are the deepest in the world, and operating the facility avoids 214,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
“We are proud to participate in this project, which is not only of strategic importance to Indonesia, but also sets an example for other global economies wishing to strengthen their decarbonization plans through floating solar technology,” said Kane . Yap, vice president of sales for ABB Indonesia's electrification business.
“Our cutting-edge technology is an integral part of Indonesia’s first industrial-scale floating photovoltaic (PV) plant and Southeast Asia’s largest renewable energy supply. Reliable distribution infrastructure is critical to the success of the country's plan to increase its share of renewable energy sources, and we are happy to be part of this journey.
ABB offers a UniGear ZS1 AIS high-voltage primary system with 17 Relion® protective relay units to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment, ensuring power reliability. It requires less maintenance, thereby optimizing the total cost of ownership. Additionally, the Relion® product family of protection and power control relays, the REF615, can be controlled remotely to improve safety. The framework is easily expandable as future demand on the facility increases.
Currently, renewable energy sources account for only 14 percent of Indonesia's energy budget. The advantage of floating photovoltaics is that the surrounding water maintains the temperature of the modules, increasing their efficiency. The Indonesian government plans to build 60 additional floating photovoltaic plants, such as the Sirata Power Plant, to reach 23% of the country's renewable energy by 2025 and 31% by 2050. With 100 reservoirs and 521 natural lakes to across the country, the project has great potential to serve as a model for replicating floating solar power plants locally and globally.
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