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Monday, 06 October 14
' COAL-BY-WIRE' FROM SUMATRA TO JAVA - THE JAKARTA POST
 Coal from the island of Sumatra accounts for most of Indonesia’s low-grade lignite, a low-quality coal that receives a poor price in international markets.
Given this low pricing combined with high transportation costs and the fact that most reserves are located in landlocked areas, it is not feasible to export Sumatra’s coal out of the island.
It is more efficient to use Sumatra’s coal for a mine-mouth power plant, an approach in which we develop a power plant very close to where mines are located, use the low-calorie coal from the mines to feed the plant, and transmit the electricity, rather than transporting a low-value commodity, out of the mines.
With mine-mouth, we no longer require either barges or expensive railway-heavy infrastructure to transport coal; rather we need to have long-distance high-voltage transmission lines to bring “coal-by-wire” from mines to consumer centers, either regions in Sumatra and/or Java-Bali.
Essentially, with “coal-by-wire” we are transporting a higher-value commodity by wire from mines to customers. Coal stays in the landlocked areas and feeds mine-mouth, coal-fired power plants.
“Coal-by-wire” would definitely boost the development of a domestic market for low-grade coal. Today, our market for coal is very thin as we are one of the world’s leading exporters of thermal coal of a high quality in the international market.
Our exports have increased very significantly within the past decade on account of demand from fast-growing Asian economies. More than 80 percent of our coal currently produced is exported.
Indeed, coal is currently the most important source of energy for our economy. For decades coal has accounted for more than half of our power-generation capacity. And this will continue for a half century to come before alternative and cleaner energy sources other than coal become affordably available.
Our economy is also growing, and of course will require more electricity power and therefore coal – challenges that have to be met. Electricity generation now consumes close to 75 million tons per year, and will almost triple in the next 10 to 15 years.
However, domestic use of coal today notoriously suffers from infrastructure bottlenecks. Congested barges and ports, as well as a shortage of railways limit the transportation of coal from coalmines in two coal-producing regions, Kalimantan and Sumatra, to demand centers in Java-Bali, where most of our power plants are located.
The majority of our coal reserves in the two regions are located in landlocked areas that require rail transportation infrastructure to reach ports for export.
Either truck haul or rail is needed to transport the coal to barge ports and terminals.
Truck operating costs are about twice that of rail, but existing rail transportation infrastructure is severely insufficient.
Indonesia’s attempts to improve coal-transport infrastructure for the domestic market have not been very successful. Dedicated coal ports in Kalimantan have been planned for many years, but implementation has again faced bottleneck issues.
Specialized railways for coal in Sumatra have also been initiated, but this concept is still under development and has not yet received a higher-level mandate or legal authorization.
Delays in expanding the capacity of barge and transportation infrastructure cause inefficiencies and high transportation costs in domestic coal utilization. These high costs and infrastructure bottlenecks have held back the development of the domestic market for coal.
Our high-voltage transmission lines are also astonishingly limited. The state-owned electricity company (PLN) operates approximately 40,000 kilometers of transmission lines, with less than 15 percent of this total serving the island of Sumatra.
If we can build more mine-mouth, coal-fired power generation plants we will need to expand our transmission network across the island, interconnected to other transmission systems in Java-Bali.
A new set of lines of a high-voltage of 500 kilovolts and medium-voltage of 275 kV needs to be developed as a backbone network across the island, i.e. providing long-distance, reliable and stable transmission.
The distribution system and transformer capacity also need to be expanded to service a larger coverage of costumers and demand centers.
We are required also to develop an interconnected transmission system, as existing electricity transmission is not compatible across regions due to different systems and manufacturer standards adopted in the past.
The current initiative of developing inter-island interconnection lines between Java and Sumatra with 500kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) lines needs to be completed in harmony with the mine-mouth development.
These long-distance transmission and distribution lines, as well as interconnected systems are required to exist before a system of mine-mouth power plants is commissioned to ensure that electricity produced can be transmitted in a timely manner and with minimum cost.
Both the central and local governments must work hand-in-hand to endorse incentives to encourage the private sector — independent power producers (IPPs) — to develop mine-mouth power plants.
Incentives need to be designed to enhance the financial viability of IPPs’ mine-mouth power plant projects.
PLN as an off-taker of IPP plays a fundamental role as the “coal-by-wire” agent, and has to be ready to absorb all of the risks associated with the development and operation of the system, including the difficulties in land acquisition and intra-regional compatibility of transmission systems.
Sumatra with its huge resources of low-grade coal can secure its own electricity supply and, eventually, can be the source of low-cost electricity with its energy radiating not only to Java, but also to every corner of the country.
Source: The Jakarta Post
The writer is deputy for energy and mineral resources at the office of Coordinating Economic Minister.
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Monday, 18 August 14
CFR SOUTH CHINA COAL SWAP PERFORMED WELL THIS PAST WEEK
COALspot.com: API 8 CFR South China Coal swap for delivery in September 2014 increased US$ 0.45 (+0.66%) day on day and US$ 0.30 (+0.44%)&nbs ...
Saturday, 16 August 14
HIGH DEMAND OF IRON ORE SHIPMENTS PUSHED CAPE INDEX UPWARDS
COALspot.com: This week's freight market was buoyant with Cape and panamax index seeing a big jump pushing the BDI above 1,000 points week on c ...
Friday, 15 August 14
5TH ANNUAL POWER AND ELECTRICITY INDONESIA
5TH ANNUAL POWER AND ELECTRICITY INDONESIA
13-16 October 2014
Grand Hyatt Jakarta, Indonesia
Web Site
The country’s definitive ...
Thursday, 14 August 14
U.S. STEAM COAL IMPORTS REMAIN DOWN SHARPLY FROM HISTORIC HIGH IN 2007, SAYS EIA
COALspot.com: U.S. steam coal imports at power plants have fallen significantly from their peak level of more than 30 million tons in 2007 to less ...
Thursday, 14 August 14
INDIA'S PLAN TO START AN INFRASTRUCTURE BOOM AND TO INVEST US$ 1 TRILLION BY 2017 WILL SURELY AFFECT THE DRY BULK TRADE - FEARNLEYS
Handy
The Atlantic Supra market has continued its improving sentiment with rates climbing and TA´s are now up about US$ 900 w-o-w, said Fea ...
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- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Planning Commission, India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- PTC India Limited - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Australian Coal Association
- The University of Queensland
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
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