VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A 60-MW barge-mounted power plant (BMPP) was delivered to Ambon city, Maluku, on Saturday (January 29, 2022).  (ANTARA/Penina Fiolana Mayaut/KT) - 

Nusantara 1, a 60-MW movable, barge-mounted power plant (BMPP), can support the electrification of Indonesia's eastern part, state electricity firm PT PLN's president director, Darmawan Prasodjo, informed on Saturday.  

Speaking in Ambon, Maluku, he said the first stage of BMPP was developed by PLN's sub-holding PT Indonesia Power in collaboration with state shipbuilding company PT PAL.

Barge mounted power plants are a solution for meeting electricity needs in remote areas, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia, he explained. The BMPP program aims to meet electricity needs over the short and temporary term, he said.

In addition, the presence of the BMPP would encourage reserve margin and increase the electrification ratio rapidly, he said. What is more, the BMPP can be moved to a place that requires more electricity, he added.

"Such as remote areas that are mostly located in eastern islands of Indonesia," Prasodjo explained adding, areas such as Ambon require 63.6 MW of electricity. With the Nusantara 1 BMPP coming in, Ambon's power supply, which is managed by the PLN Group, can be solidified, he added.

Nusantara 1 BMPP is equipped with dual fuel technology to accommodate flexibility in and availability of fuel, he said. A large amount of power is needed to electrify areas that have electric power deficits, he added.

"We hope that Nusantara 1 BMPP can operate efficiently and on time, supporting Ambon's electrical system," Prasodjo said.

Meanwhile, president director of PT Indonesia Power, M Ahsin Sidqi, explained that the BMPP would electrify Ambon through a 150kV network.

At the end of January 2022, Nusantara 1 sailed to Ambon from Surabaya,he informed. Furthermore, on February 12, it will undergo a mooring process, he said.

After the BMPP's arrival, power evacuation work, backfeeding, RLB, RLS, and operations synchronization will be done to support the Ambon electricity system before March 31, 2022, he added//ANT