Scheduled to be built in Morowali regency, Central Sulawesi, the PLTBm is expected to meet rising electricity demand from Morowali households and small industries.
The PLTBm, which will be developed in cooperation with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), is likely to cost IDR3 million per kilowatt (kW), bringing the total value to IDR30bn ($2.56m).
Morowali Regent Anwar Hafidz was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying: "There have actually been a lot of offers to build various power plants, but I wasn’t interested. But then Kadin proposed building a biomass power plant that we thought made sense, as it would use trees that were also native to Morowali.
"With the introduction of biomass [power plants], my hope is that our community will no longer experience complete darkness at night."
Prior to the construction, PLNE will carry out assessments on the financial and operational aspects of the project, including adjusting the rates needed to buy back the power output.
PLNE president director Zainal Abidin Sihite was quoted as saying by the publication: "There are financial and technological aspects to note. We’ll be taking measurements, as we are merely consultants in helping Kadin and the regent get this project running.
Zaenal estimated that the construction of the plant could be completed in two years at the most, in addition to the due diligence period of six months.
