JAKARTA – PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara Energi Primer Indonesia (PLN EPI), a subsidiary of state-owned electricity company PT PLN, has applied substitution technology to replace coal with biomass in its 43 coal-fired power plants (PLTU). During 2023, PLN EPI absorbed a total of one million tons of biomass–mostly oil palm biomass, which is an increase of 71% compared to that in 2022 at 585,000 tons.

The use of biomass in the power plants with the application of co-firing technology has reduced the use of coal by 1 – 3 percent. Besides reducing PLN reliance on the fossil fuels, the biomass use is also expected to reduce carbon emissions.

“With the co-firing technology, 43 units of our power plants can reduce carbon emissions up to 941,900 tons of CO2,” PLN EPI President Director Iwan Agung Firstantara said in a press release on Wednesday (17/1/2024).

He also said that the use of biomass has been increasing every year. In 2021, the absorption of biomass reached 290,000 tons. It rose to 450,000 tons in 2022, and 870,000 tons in 2023.

“We project that until 2025 our need of biomass will reach 10.2 million tons with the implementation of the co-firing program in 52 units of PLTU owned by PLN Group,” he said.

According to him, PLN will raise the use of biomass from the current level at 3.0% to 12% in each power plant. It is aimed to help the government to realize the contribution of renewable energy up to 23% to the national energy mix in 2025.

He said that green power generation with biomass in 2023 amounted to 1.0 Terawatt Hour (TWh). The green power generation saw a growth of more than 77% from the realization in 2022 at 575 GWh. (*)

Source: sawitindonesia.com