GE look to strengthen hold on the Indonesian power market

General Electric (GE) Indonesia, the local arm of the US-based company, is bringing renewable energy technologies to the country to gear up its business in the lucrative Indonesian power market, company executives said last week.

Business in the energy sector was expected to grow exponentially as the government stepped up projects in the sector.

“The energy sector will be the main player of this year and we expect the size of our business in this sector to triple,” GE Indonesia president and CEO Handry Satriago, said..

So far, GE-manufactured gas and steam turbines have been installed in various power plants. The equipment has supported the production of more than 8,000 megawatts of electricity, equal to 30 percent of the country’s electricity output, according to recent data from GE.

This year, he added, GE, in collaboration with Indonesian state power company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), aimed to launch its first biomass gasification project in the country, which could produce at least 750 kilowatt of electricity.

“The pilot project with PLN will be located on Sumba Island, East Nusa Tenggara,” he said.

Handry added that the company had seen a “significant market” in biomass gasification, which fell under the renewable energy sector, given that the equipment utilized in the electricity generation process was far more compact than that used in traditional power plants.

The compactness of the equipment, he added, allowed the easy deployment of the equipment into rural areas, many of which were still receiving a limited electricity supply.

“As much as 30 percent of Indonesia, most notably rural areas, is still in the dark,” he noted.

Handry added that wood chips, besides other materials such as low calorie coal and rice husk, would act as the raw material in the gasification process.

“We will replicate this project in other areas across the Indonesian power market if the pilot project works out,” he said.

GE, which has been present in Indonesia for over 70 years, has been active in the fields of power and water, energy management, oil and gas, aviation, healthcare, lighting and transportation, particularly in locomotive equipment.

In addition, Handry said the company had enjoyed double-digit growth in the demand for various equipment since 2010.

“Indonesia is number one in Southeast Asia in terms of demand,” he said, adding that Indonesia had outdone Singapore.

GE fulfills demands from companies such as PLN, state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) and flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia.

GE also supplies medical equipment, from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment and computed tomography (CT) scanners, to healthcare facilities. Around 70 percent of GE Indonesia’s business deals with orders from state-owned companies.

Handry added that Indonesia would remain “a sexy market” for all companies in the infrastructure sector in the coming years.