The photo is sourced from brightvibes.com

The new floating SPP is not the first one for PLN Nusantara Power. In November 2022, they brought on stream the Cirata 145 MW above-water photovoltaic plant, which they built jointly with Masdar (UAE) specialising in renewable energy generation. In addition to supplying energy to 50 thou households, the power plant will help to save 214 Kt of greenhouse gases per annum, which is compatible with 6% of annual emissions from flaring associated petroleum gas in the territory of Indonesia.

According to Ember research centre, the cumulative capacity of all the SPPs in Indonesia by the end of 2021 achieved 210 MW; however, they account only for 0.1% of electricity generation in the country. The main volumes were generated by coal-fired (61.5%) and gas-fired (18.2%) power plants, as well as diesel generators (2.2%). Hydro power plants (8%) and biomass-based plants (4.9%) prevailed among the renewable energy sources, and the share of all other RES including floating SPPs made составила 5.2%.

One of the floating SPPs’ advantages is their radiation balance, Hesan Ziar, the Delft University professor, claimed in his interview to Global Energy. “When the solar panels are installed on the soil, the total albedo (the ratio between the volume of radiation reflected from the surface and the volume of the absorbed radiation – Global Energy) of this area changes towards decreasing the volume of reflected radiation. However, when the solar plants are installed on the water surface, this does not happen, because the albedo level of both water and the panels is low, approximately 5%”, the professor specified. “This is what we call the radiation balance. Hence, the important factor for floating SPPs is that they do not change the albedo of the area, in which they are installed”.