Tata Power Company, the country’s largest private sector utility, said the company, along with consortium partners Origin Energy and PT Supraco Indonesia, has won the 240 mw Sorik Merapi geothermal project in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

PT Sorik Merapi Geothermal Power (SMGP), a special purpose vehicle formed by the consortium, will develop the project over the next 18 months. The commercial production is expected from June 2015, the company said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Tata Power and Origin Energy will hold 47.50 per cent each in the project, while PT Supraco will hold 5 per cent.

Financial Chronicle on March 28, 2010, reported that Tata Power had bid

for the project and was planning to target around 1,500 mw of the projected 9,500 mw of geothermal projects coming up in

Indonesia by 2025.

Banamali Agarwala, ED, told Financial Chronicle that they have not formally estimated the exact cost of the project. “It would be roughly between $2.5 million and $3.5 million per mw and would be cheaper than solar power in the renewable energy space.”

“The power, once produced, would be sold to PT PLN, the Indonesian government agency, which will then sell to parties under the power purchase agreement,” he said.

Indonesia is situated on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ and is expected to have around 27,000 mw of potential conventional geothermal resources. At present, it generates around 1,196 mw of geothermal power.

“We will bid for all the major projects coming up in Indonesia and plan to target around 1500 mw of the proposed 9,500 mw geothermal generation from the country by 2025,” Agarwala said.

Prasad R Menon, managing director, Tata Power, said in a statement that the company aims to achieve at least 25 per cent of its generation portfolio through renewable sources of energy by 2017, with geothermal energy being one of the prime renewable growth engines. “The Sorik Merapi exploration is testament to our faith in the untapped potential of geothermal energy.”