THE BENEFITS FROM SMALL SCALE INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER USING RENEWABLE ENERGY (A CASE STUDY OF CINTA MEKAR MICRO HYDRO POWER PLANT)

Abstract

The benefit and profit that can be generated by an Independent Power Producer (IPP) for a specific community attracts the attention of the researcher and led to the study of the CintaMekar Micro Hydro Power Plant. The presence also of another party that owned the Power Plant, a private company by the name of PT. HIBS is an additional reason making the case study all the more interesting. A small scale IPP producing a very minor contribution to the national electrification effort raises questions for the researcher: why should the State Owned Electricity Company (PLN) want to buy such a small amount of generated power and what are the real benefits from this small scale IPP? Another aspect that needs to be studied related to the small scale IPP in Indonesia are the resources of the power generator. In the case of the CintaMekar IPP, the resource harnessed is water, known as Micro Hydro Power. Micro Hydro is a renewable and clean source of energy, cheap in operational and maintenance costs. Compared to the electricity generator using fossil fuel, the investment in the Micro Hydro IPP is known to be more expensive and many observers considered that there are too many risks involved in Micro Hydro as power generator because of the issue of climate change, making it insecure for the sustainability of the IPP. With all the risks of involving the local community as one of the owners of IPP and the risks from nature, this research will show the profit and benefit brought by CintaMekar Hydro Power Plant IPP to the parties involved which are CintaMekar Village Community and PT. HIBS as the owners and PLN as the purchaser of the generated power.