Masdar to build 200 MW floating solar plant in Indonesia

Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company Masdar has signed a project development agreement with PT Pembangkitan Jawa-Bali, a unit of Indonesian state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara, to build a 200 MW floating solar plant in the West Java province. 

Upon completion, the project will be the biggest floating PV installation in the world. It will contain 700,000 floats and cover 225 hectares of surface area on the Cirata Reservoir. The reservoir is 6,000 hectares, and already provides power for a 1 GW hydroelectric plant. The project will also include an onshore high-voltage substation.

This deal follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Masdar and PT Pembangkitan Jawa-Bali in July. The two parties aim to collaborate on large-scale clean energy projects on the islands of Java, Bali and Sumatra. Iwan Agung Firstantara, president director of PT Pembangkitan Jawa-Bali, said,

“We believe this project development agreement is a milestone in the development of other floating PV solar power plants”

The project will mark Masdar’s entry into South East Asia and will be its first scheme for a floating PV park. Masdar believe that an additional 60 reservoirs throughout Indonesia could be developed to host floating solar plants. These are particularly beneficial in tropical countries as they can provide energy in forested areas that are otherwise unsuitable for solar energy projects.