PT Pertamina Power Indonesia (PPI) has initiated its long-term plan for 2020-2024 by using 9% of its capital expenditure (Capex) to develop green hydrogen pilot project in Ulubelu, Lampung.
PPI is a subsidiary of state-owned oil-and-gas giant PT Pertamina, focusing on developing the new and renewable energy (NRE or EBT in Indonesian language). Pertamina owns 99.999031% shares of the company while the remaining 0.000969% is owned by PT Pertamina Pedeve Indonesia.
The company’s Business Planning & Portfolio Vice President Fuadi Arif Nasution said PPI was focusing on completing the environmental permits revision. Therefore, the Ulubelu Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) green hydrogen pilot project cannot be on stream in 2022. PPI targets the pilot project to be completed next year.
“We are focusing on the revision of the Amdal (Environmental Impact Analysis). Hopefully, we can launch it soon,” he said during the Webinar on Clean Energy Transition Business Opportunities on August 3, 2022.
In 2020, PPI owned two electricity plants, namely the Badak solar power plant (PLTS) in Bontang, East Kalimantan; the Sei Mangkei biogas power plant (PLTBg) in Simalungun, North Sumatra. PPI also managed Kwala Sawit PLTBg and Pagar Merbau PLTBg, both in North Sumatra, which were owned by state plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) II.
There will be an allocation of investment for the NRE development worth IDR225 trillion or US$15 billion for the 2022-2027 period.
Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati said the investment would reach 14% of the total Capex for the period. She believed PPI would commit to further development of NRE as its future energy for Indonesia.
Widyawati realized that the target was quite ambitious for the company. “We [Pertamina] will increase the energy mix in our energy production from 1% to 17% in 2030,” she said.
However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic hit Pertamina hard. She said in October 2020 that the decreasing fuel consumption due to large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), the weakening rupiah and the declining fuel price contributed to the company’s sales drop to 57% in Jakarta and 26% nationwide.