Indonesia’s national energy company, PT. PLN, has signed a deal with an international group of investors led by Singapore-headquartered energy and infrastructure specialist Equis to build the country’s first large-scale renewable energy project.
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Signed on September 19 in Copenhagen, the 60MW capacity South Sulawesi wind farm will be Indonesia’s largest wind farm yet and is seen to help achieve the country’s ambitious goal of adding 35,000MW of additional energy to its current supply, with 23 per cent coming from renewable sources, by 2025.
Rini Soemarno, Indonesia’s minister for State-Owned Enterprises, and Lars Christian Lilleholt, Danish minister for Energy, Utilities and Climate, witnessed the signing ceremony. Danish company Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s largest producer of wind turbines, also signed a conditional agreement to provide the wind turbines for the project.
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We are confident this project can help pave the way for additional wind power investments in Indonesia.
Anders Runevad, CEO, Vestas
The start of construction and commissioning dates for the wind farm project have yet to be announced, but a news site said the wind farm project comprising 21 wind turbines is expected to be completed by 2017.
Green energy proponents and investors are viewing the South Sulawesi project as an impetus for Indonesia, the fifth biggest CO2 emitter in the world, to transition to green energy.
The country signed the Paris Agreement at COP21 last year where it announced a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 29 per cent by 2030. Indonesia has yet to ratify the Agreement.
Casper Klynge, Danish ambassador to Indonesia, said: “I am proud that Denmark and Danish companies can assist Indonesia by providing state-of-the-art green energy solutions to support the government’s objective.”
Vestas CEO Anders Runevad said Indonesia’s wind energy has great long-term potential. “We are confident this project can help pave the way for additional wind power investments in Indonesia.”
The collaboration for the wind farm project is a result of a long-running cooperation between Indonesian and Danish government authorities and private sector companies.
