Visit to Kamojang geothermal plant, Indonesia
Kamojang geothermal plant, Indonesia (source: ThinkGeoEnergy, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
27 Eki 2014
At a recent visit to the Kamojang geothermal field in Indonesia, I learned a lot about the history dating back to 1926. Pictures from the visit can be found via ThinkGeoEnergy's Flickr account.
Earlier this month, I had the great opportunity to see the Kamojang geothermal plant in Indonesia.
It is also the location of Indonesia’s first geothermal wells and its first geothermal power plant.
The first geothermal wells in Indonesia were drilled in 1926-1928 at Kamojang, financed by the then Dutch colonial government in the country. Five wells were drilled. Well KM-J 3 was the only successfull one still producing natural dry steam today at 140 degrees celsius. The well has a depth of 66 meters and is a tourist attraction at the Kamojang crater recreation area near Bandung, Indonesia. I
Indonesia’s first geothermal plant started operation at Kamojang in 1978 with an installed capacity of 0.25 MW.
Today, Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) operates the steamfield and currently one geothermal plant (Unit 4, 60 MW with a Fuji turbine). Units 1-3 are operated by Indonesia Power (a subsidiary of PLN) with a total capacity of 140 MW.
PGE is currently constructing Unit 5 with a 35 MW turbine from Fuji Electric. There are plans for a further expansion with a possible Unit 6 and 7. But, as we were told, they are part of protected forest and therefore permitting will take some time.
Pictures from my visit can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkgeoenergy/sets/72157648887971091/
