Retiring the power plant step by step, PT PLN (Persero) will be converting and optimizing power plants to be able to reduce the emissions.
JAKARTA, ExtraNews – PT PLN (Persero) have been innovating the steps towards Carbon Neutral 2060 to meet the vision greener Indonesia. These steps are illustrated on the roadmap of the Zero Carbon 2060 scenario.
President Director of PT PLN (Persero), Zulkifli Zaini explains, PLN is actively encouraging to utilize environmentally friendly electrical energy, not only in terms of supply, but also in terms of demand side.
Besides providing convenience and electrical stimulus for customers, PLN is committed to frequently improving the electric vehicle and induction cooker ecosystem.
PLN provides incentives to electric vehicle users who propose to increase electricity power supply at home. PLN also provides discounted electricity rates for seven hours (22.00 to 05.00) especially to the electric vehicles home charging.
As of October 2021, PLN has provided 47 Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (SPKLU) spread throughout Indonesia. Until the end of 2021, Zulkifli targets the addition of 67 new SPKLU units.
In addition, PLN is also actively inviting the investors to join in expanding the SPKLU through a website for partnership services. Through this website, each business entities can transparently join to expand the business.
“We, PLN, are totally ready to carry out our duties as a driver and pioneer in changing fossil-based transportation to clean energy. Taking place fuel vehicles of electric vehicles. PLN has even prepared the ecosystem by now and is ready to collaborate with strategic partners to support the strengthening of the electric vehicle ecosystem,” said Zulkifli.
In terms of supply side, steam power plants (PLTU) still dominate the power plants system by the contribution around 68 percent. The monetization steps of coal-based power plants until 2056 will be carried out towards the construction of New Renewable Energy (NRE) power plants.
Zulkifli explains that in 2030 PLN will be starting the first stage of retiring sub-critical old fossil power plants of 1 gigawatt (GW). Then in 2035, as the second step, PLN will continue to retire the sub-critical power plant of 9 GW.
In the third step, in 2040, PLN will retire the 10 GW super critical steam power plant.
In the next five years, PLN will carry out the retirement of the first phase of ultra-super critical power plant of 24 GW, and in 2055, the last retirement of super critical of 5 GW.
As from 2045 to 2056, step by step, the PLTU will be replaced by the new renewable energy.
“PLN is well-prepared to carry out a precious task: providing a better living space for future generations. PLN will organize all of its resources, human, knowledge, experience, skills and capital as optimal as possible to carry out this task,” said Zulkifli.
During this energy transition period, PLN will also optimize its power plants to reduce emissions. Some of the existing power plants will be converted using more environmentally friendly fuels.
For example, as what PLN has been doing, mixing biomass into coal-fired power plants, named co-firing. Until 2025, PLN targets the co-firing program will be ran in 52 power plant’s locations with a capacity of 10.6 gigawatt (GW) and the needs of biomass pellets of 9 million tons per year.
Moreover, PLN has also prepared a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) scenario which in the roadmap will be implemented after 2035. CCUS is considered as an alternative technology, in terms of environmental impact and guarantees, has the availability of supply which is relatively safe.
In terms of investment, the implementation of CCUS technology still needs to be learned more deeply. However, the required investment is still possible to be applied to the feasible operating PLN power plants.
Zulkifli is optimistic that along with technological developments, the required costs required to the implementation of CCUS will be lower.
Once the CCUS investment is affordable, this scenario could sustain the using of coal at certain volume until 2060.
“The use of coal will grow until 2030, but with CCUS then we can maintain coal use of around 150 TWh. But in terms of the energy blend, it will decrease, because the portion of renewable energy used will still be a lot,” he said.
During those steps, PLN estimates that electricity storage technology in the form of large batteries will be more efficient and useful in electricity management in Indonesia, especially to the isolated or off-grid systems.
So, economically, solar power plants (PLTS) and wind power plants (PLTB) will be more profitable than PLTU.
“PLN continues to innovate on developing fuel cell and hydrogen technology as a more cheap, reliable and safe energy source. In the future, NRE will not only be limited to intermittent energy, but also as a base load carrier that will compete with fossil energy,” Zulkifli said.
In terms of NRE power plants, PLN has prepared the best scenario to support Carbon Neutral 2060. The NRE portion will dominate the energy blend of PLN’s power plants.
In 2020, the share of PLTU in power plants is 68 percent, PLTGU is 19 percent, PLTA is 7 percent, PLTP is 6 percent and PLTS is 1 percent. In 2025, the share of PLTU decreased to 62 percent. It is just that the escalation of increasing the NRE power plant sector jumped with the inclusion of PLTS into the system which will reach the share up to 7 percent. The capacity of each PLTP and PLTA are also increased by 8 percent.
Ten years later, in 2035, the share of NRE continues to increase with the share of PLTS by 23 percent. PLTP also will increase to 13 percent and PLTS is 9 percent.
In 2040, PLN will start using CCUS with a share up to 24 percent. Nuclear-based power plants will also start operating at this year with a share of 4 percent. This year, the share of PLTS even increased to 45 percent. At the same year, Indonesia is officially will also stop the operation of PLTU.
Until 2060, the share of PLTS and PLTB has escalated to 53 percent. The share of PLTP will also increase to 14 percent and other NRE by 14 percent. [rel]
