President Jokowi Inaugurates Cirata Floating Solar Power Plant

President Jokowi inaugurates Cirata Floating Solar Power Plant with a capacity of 192 MWp, Thursday (11/09) in Purwakarta regency, West Java province. (Source: Screenshot)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurated the Cirata Floating Solar Power Plant (PLTS) with a capacity of 192 megawatt peak (MWp), Thursday (11/09) in Purwakarta regency, West Java province. President Jokowi said that the infrastructure is the largest floating solar power plant in South-East Asia and the third largest in the world.

“Today, history has been made, because our big dream to build a large-scale renewable new energy plant has finally come true. We have succeeded in building a floating solar power plant, which is the largest in South-East Asia and the third largest in the world,” the President expressed.

The President went on to say that the operation of the floating PLTS can be realized thanks to cooperation between Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, the state electric company PT PLN Persero, and Masdar from the United Arab Emirates.

“Cirata dam has already had a water power plant (PLTA) with a capacity of 1,000 MW, and now it is supported by the floating PLTS with a capacity of 192 MWp. In the future, it can be maximized to approximately 1,000 MWp. So, the water power plant can also support green energy,” he explained.

Furthermore, President Jokowi has also encouraged the use of all potentials of new renewable energy in Indonesia. By using current technology, the President is optimistic that Indonesia can overcome challenges in developing new renewable energy.

“For instance, we can also have a wind power plant here. During the process, the weather may pose challenges, but we can manage to control it by building a smart grid, so the electric supply can still be stable although the weather is changing. We can also overcome another challenge of having the location of the new renewable energy far from the center of electric use. We can come up with the solution of building transmission line, and later every potential of new renewable energy in the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi can be distributed to the economic centers,” he remarked. (FID/UN)(AW/MUR)