Mott MacDonald is monitoring the construction of the US$700 million Rantau Dedap geothermal power project in South Sumatra, Indonesia. The consultancy is acting as technical, social and environmental advisor to a consortium of lenders on the project and previously performed due diligence to help the scheme reach financial close.
Indonesia hosts approximately 40% of the world’s geothermal reserves, making it an important resource as it aims to meet increasing electricity demand and achieve its commitments to reducing CO2 emissions by 29% by 2030. It is estimated that the country has 29,000MW of geothermal generation potential.
The 98.4MW Rantau Dedap project will be the second geothermal project in Indonesia that will utilise dual flash technology, improving the plant’s efficiency. Once operational, Rantau Dedap is expected to power up to 130,000 homes, create jobs and avoid over 400,000 tons of CO2 emissions every year.
Mott MacDonald’s due diligence included assessing the technical capabilities of the project’s stakeholders, analysing construction management and execution, performing design appraisal and reviewing the project’s schedule, agreements and financial model, as well as social, environmental and permitting. After construction of the plant is completed, the consultancy will then deliver commissioning and operational monitoring services.
Tryfon Papalexandrou, Mott MacDonald’s project manager, said: "This commission follows on from our role as lenders’ technical advisor on a previous geothermal power project in West Sumatra, which was financed by the same lenders and successfully reached financial close last year. It also demonstrates our capabilities in helping complex geothermal power projects to achieve financial close, while the coordination of global resources used on this project is a testament to our project management capabilities.”
The Rantau Dedap geothermal power project is expected to become operational in 2021.