52 US Companies Eye Role in Indonesia's 35GW Power Scheme
Jakarta. Up to 52 US companies are gunning for a slice of the Indonesian government’s program to ramp up electricity production and add 35,000 megawatts to the national grid over the next five years.
The companies are part of the US Power Working Group for Indonesia, which also includes 11 US government agencies and departments.
Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said and US Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., signed a memorandum of understanding on the working group in Jakarta on Wednesday.
“This partnership will proceed with business relations between companies [included in the working group] and [Indonesian state electricity company] PLN,” Sudirman said at the ceremony.
Blake said the US companies represented in the group covered a broad range of resources and expertise, including independent power producers, renewable and clean energy companies, and providers of financing, equipment and engineering services.
The team of US government agencies listed in the group, meanwhile, has provided a range of technical assistance and financing support for a number of energy projects in Indonesia for some time. They include development agency USAID’s $16 million Indonesia clean energy development program, and the US Department of Energy’s $1.2 million program on sustainable electricity for remote Indonesian areas.
“To echo President Jokowi’s own words, the targets presented in the 35 GW plan are not merely objectives; instead they are requirements that must be achieved,” Blake said prior to the signing, referring to President Joko Widodo by his nickname.
“The successful execution of this plan will provide the affordable and reliable power that Indonesia needs as a backbone to grow the economy. And the US companies represented in this group are at the forefront of those who can help Indonesia meet its energy goals,” he added.
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