ABB’s substation helps Indonesia leverage its geothermal potential, bringing clean power to half a million homes

ABB’s grid solution will connect the new geothermal power plant near Rantau Dedap, located in a volcanic complex in a remote highland part of South Sumatra, far from the island’s main transmission system. The plant provides 220 megawatts of carbon-free electricity – enough to power almost 500,000 local homes.

Working closely with PT Rekayasa Industri, an Indonesia Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company and their customer, PT Supreme Energy, ABB is engineering, manufacturing, supplying, installing and commissioning a prefabricated gas-insulated substation (GIS), which will be delivered on-site fully assembled and factory-tested.

“ABB Power Grids delivers fully integrated modular, preassembled solutions that support customer needs,” says Niklas Persson, Managing Director of ABB’s Power Grids Grid Integration Business Line. “Our compact and reliable substation saves installation time and reduces execution risks, which makes it a particularly suitable solution for remote geographical areas.”

Substations enable efficient and reliable transmission and distribution of electricity. Prefabricated substations are modular solutions, delivered from the factory with a high degree of functional integration for quicker installation and commissioning. ABB’s prefabricated GIS substations have an exceptionally compact footprint. They include control, protection and monitoring in a robust frame, which makes them an ideal element to support rapid grid expansions. The 150-kilovolt (kV) unit with its protective housing is tailor-made for the harsh sulfuric environment of the volcanic Sumatran uplands. The integrated GIS is designed with air over-pressure system and air filtration systems to protect the GIS from the sulfuric air condition in the volcanic area.

The Indonesian archipelago is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, prone to strong earthquakes and powerful volcanic eruptions. It is also a reservoir of geothermal power resources, holding an estimated 40 percent of the world’s geothermal potential.

Did you know that today Indonesia has developed only a fraction of its geothermal potential? However, the geothermal share of the fuel mix is expected to almost double from 5 percent in 2017 to 9.8 percent in 2027. The Indonesian Government has announced its aim to diversify the country’s energy mix and reduce CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030 and already by 2023 it aims to become the world's largest geothermal power producer.