By Antonio delos Reyes

January 3, 2024 - Indonesian state-owned utility PLN implemented biomass co-firing at more of its coal-fired plants in 2023, increasing its biomass consumption on the year.

There were 43 coal-fired power plants that implemented biomass co-firing in 2023, according to the company, with a total biomass consumption of 1mn t, slightly below the government's target of 1.05mn t. But this was still significantly higher than its consumption of 585,000t in 2022. The total electricity generated from the biomass co-firing programme reached 1.04TWh in 2023, said PLN.

PLN managed to reduce 1.05mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) in 2023, a 450,000t decrease from the previous year, according to the firm, as a result of the co-firing.

PLN in 2024 will be focusing mainly on ensuring ample supply of biomass for the co-firing plants, stating that for co-firing to be effective, plants need to have a continuous source of biomass to blend with coal. Total biomass use is targeted to reach 2.83mn t this year, before peaking at 10.2mn t in 2025, when all 52 of PLN-owned coal plants will be using biomass alongside coal.

For smaller plants which have lower biomass needs, PLN will be collaborating with local communities, co-operatives, and micro, small and medium enterprises, as well as local governments for the production and supply of their biomass needs. For larger plants, PLN's subsidiary PLN EPI will be responsible for finding and inking biomass supply contracts through business-to-business transactions, the utility said.

Indonesia's energy ministry (ESDM) issued a regulation in November 2023 which set a price cap on biomass sold to PLN for power generation purposes.

Under the regulation, the benchmark price is calculated based on a formula linked to the government-set HBA coal reference price. PLN has said that this pricing regulation will make it easier to draw up supply contracts as it provides certainty regarding the pricing of biomass for power generation use.