Indramayu power station

Indramayu power station (also known as Indramayu Sumuradem) is a 990-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in West Java Province, Indonesia.

A further 2,000 MW has been proposed, but new capacity appears on hold and potentially cancelled following Japan's decision to back out of financing coal projects in Indonesia.

Location

The photo below shows the plant, located in Sumur Adem Village, Sukra District, Indramayu Regency, West Java Province.

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Background on Plant

The Indramayu power station is a three-unit, 990-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in Indonesia's West Java Province, owned by PLN. The three units of the Indramayu power station were built under Fast Track Program (FTP) Phase I. The three units were financed by US$129 million in equity, provided by PLN, and US$730 million in loans provided by a consortium of banks including Societe Generale, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, BNP Paribas, Bank of China, China Development Bank, China CITIC Bank, Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Mandiri, and Bank Rakyat Indonesia.

In December 2014, Indramayu Regency officials alleged that a former Regency government official, Irianto M.S. Syafiuddin, had embezzled 4.1 billion Rupiah, or about $300,000, in the land acquisition process for the Indramayu plant in 2004.

Description of Expansion

PLN is planning to build two additional 1,000-MW coal-fired units at this plant. Environmental permits have been difficult to obtain, and have caused significant delays, with the company still waiting on these permits as of December 2014. The company was hoping to begin construction in 2015, but was uncertain whether it would be able to.

The 2015-2014 power supply plan for PT PLN lists the projected starting dates for Units 4 and 5 as 2019 and 2024 respectively.

The 2016-2025 and the 2017-2026 power supply plans for PT PLN no longer list Indaramayu Unit 5. It appears the project has been abandoned. However, a May 2017 article on potential JCIC funding describes the project as 2 x 1000 MW, suggesting that Unit 5 is still under development. In the report, the Central Business Division Director of Central Java PLN, Nasri Sebayang, said that a 2 x 1000 MW expansion is now in the preparation stage of the tender documents for JICA funding, with construction beginnning in 2018 and ending in 2021. The plant would require US$4 billion.

On December 6, 2017, the environmental permit for Units 4 & 5 was revoked by Bandung Administrative Court Judges. This ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by Mekarsari and surrounding villagers who are members of the Indramayu Smoke Free Network (JATAYU). The residents argued the environmental permit for PLN’s proposed expansion had been improperly issued and there had been no public consultation with the affected communities. The decision will likely be appealed and ruled on by a higher court.

In June 2018, PT PLN Persero announced that the targeted completion date for Units 4 & 5 had been postponed to 2027.

The long-range plan for 2019-2028 lists Unit 4 with a target completion date of 2026, but does not list Unit 5, indicating that it is cancelled. In October 2019, it was reported that PLN was seeking funding that would allow it proceed with the development of Unit 4.

The long-range plan for 2021-2030 shelved the project. In October 2022, the expansion was reported on as being stopped.

Financing for Expansion

In March 2013, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a US$88 million overseas development aid loan to support funding for construction of unit 4. In 2017, PLN officials stated that JICA had agreed to provide debt financing for the US$4 billion needed for construction costs. Given that, as of October 2021, construction had not begun on Indramayu Unit 4, it is unclear whether this financing agreement has been finalized or how much funding has been disbursed. Activist groups from across the globe have called on JICA to pull its funding commitment from the Indramayu expansion.

In June 2022, Japan announced it would stop providing yen loans for the construction of coal-fired electricity plants in Indonesia. The policy reversal regarding the construction of the Indramayu plant came in response to fierce international criticism. According to Wanhar, director of electricity program supervision at the country’s energy and mineral resources ministry, the project was already on hold and could be halted completely in line with Indonesia’s net-zero target.

Public opposition

The expansion has been opposed by local residents, who say the existing plant has already resulted in negative impacts to their livelihoods, and that the expansion would displace needed farming land. Executive Director of WALHI West Java Dadan Ramdan described the December 2017 revocation of the environmental permit for PLTU Indramayu 2 as a victory for villagers.

In September 2018, two environmentalists who had protested the Indramayu expansion were arrested and charged with raising an inverted national flag, which is a crime under Article 24 of Law No. 24/2009.

Protest against the proposed Indramayu plant expansion, photo undated.

In August 2022, public resistance to the planned 1000 MW expansion was ongoing. Residents of the area cited a public health crisis caused by the existing plant and protested the development of Phase II. Farmers and fishermen claimed that their livelihoods were majorly impacted by pollution from Indramayu power station, with crop yields reportedly down 90%. One resident stated that after the power station began operating, hundreds of his coconut trees died.

In September 2022, on "National Farmers Day", residents of Mekarsari village held an action with threefold goals: refuse biomass co-firing at the power station, close Indramayu 1, and officially cancel Indramayu 2. One farmer stated (Google translate): "our livelihood from agriculture has been lost and even now our village is no longer comfortable because every day there is smoke from the chimney of PLTU I."

Environmental impact

The construction of PLTU Indramayu 2 significantly decreased the productivity of nearby agricultural land, covering a total area of ​​275.4 hectares. As a result, 790 farm laborers lost their jobs which are their cultural roots.

Project Details

• Sponsor: PLN
• Parent company: PT PLN Persero
• Location: Sumur Adem Village, Sukra District, Indramayu Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia
• Coordinates: -6.2747375, 107.9704303 (exact)
• Status: Operating (Units 1-3); Shelved (Unit 4); Cancelled (Unit 5)
• Gross Capacity: 2,990 MW (Units 1-3: 3 x 330 MW; Units 4 & 5: 2 x 1,000 MW)
• Type: Subcritical (Units 1-3); Supercritical (Units 4 & 5)
• In service: 2010 (Unit 1); 2011 (Units 2 & 3); 2030 (Unit 4)
• Coal Type: Subbituminous
• Coal Source:
• Source of financing: Units 1-3: US$730 million in debt, US$129 million in equity; Unit 4: US$88 million in debt from Japan International Cooperation Agency

Articles and resources

Related GEM.wiki articles

• Indonesia and coal