Royal HaskoningDHV is implementing four mini hydropower plants along the Merawu river in Central Java, Indonesia. The project consists of four cascaded run-of-river plant: 6MW at Kerekan and Pandensari, 2.4MW in Watupayang and 1.2MW in Tempuran. The plants will be constructed in order to deliver clean energy from weirs, sediment traps and penstocks.
The powerhouses will each contain several turbines, and a transmission line will connect about 400,000 people to the 20 kV grid. What’s more, the four mini hydropower plants represent the first phase in the agreement with TIRASA 1 to develop small scale hydropower plants. The $30 million programme expects a return on investment of seven years.
“This is the first stage in our programme to provide a total installed capacity of 100MW by 2018,” said Mr Suryana Padma, president-director of TIRASA. “These hydropower plants provide a sustainable solution to the lack of supply experienced in Indonesia.”
Having completed a hydrological study and reviewed the local feasibility study, Royal HaskoningDHV is now preparing detailed design and tender documents for the four mini hydropower plants in Central Java. The next stage will involve tender assistance and construction management (including the creation of access roads) as part of overall responsibility for the entire project life cycle. Project developers stress that the impact on the local environment will be negligible.
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- According to TIRASA, a pioneering energy investment company in Indonesia, more than 86 million people still lack even basic access to electricity.