SBS, Black & Veatch collaborate to develop marine energy in Indonesia
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between SBS Intl Ltd and Black & Veatch for the development of commercial-scale tidal current projects in Indonesia. This agreement was facilitated at the recent BKPM (Investment Coordinating Board of the Republic of Indonesia) trade summit held in London and attended by the Indonesian President and senior ministers from both Indonesia and Great Britain.
Indonesia, one of the world’s largest archipelagos, has the potential for significant volumes of marine energy. The MoU follows feasibility studies and is expected to lead to an initial facility of 12 megawatts (MW), potentially expanding to 150MW in the future.
Black & Veatch, working in Indonesia for more than 40 years, has served the energy and water industry in Asia for more than 90 years. They have undertaken nearly 100 energy and water projects across 24 provinces throughout Indonesia, contributing to almost 15,000 MW of installed capacity throughout the country.
“This important renewable energy project has the potential to make a significant contribution to meeting Indonesia’s energy needs, especially on remote islands. The UK’s tidal current energy technology expertise is among the most advanced in the world. We are delighted SBS has selected Black & Veatch to help use it for the benefit of communities in Indonesia,” said Tim Baker, Technical Director, Tidal Energy, Black& Veatch.
UK project developer SBS, has more than 27 years of international experience in marine, subsea and renewable energy projects. SBS is being supported by the Indonesian and British governments to transfer tidal current technology from the UK to Indonesia. In 2004, PT. SBS Indonesia was established in Jakarta. It has experience with seabed and ocean currents around Indonesia’s archipelago. SBS UK and SBS Indonesia intend to work together to leverage the UK’s industry leading marine energy knowledge for Indonesia’s benefit.
SBS Group Chairman and CEO, Michael J. Spencer also commented, saying, “After more than three years of research into Indonesia’s archipelagic ocean resources, resulting in an exclusive offshore site development agreement with state-owned utility PLN, SBS welcomes Black & Veatch’s global power expertise and UK tidal current experience. Black & Veatch has more than 40 years experience delivering energy projects in Indonesia and I am delighted with the support provided by Tim and his team during the feasibility study phase. As a result, I am confident Black & Veatch’s world-class input will greatly enhance the quality of our engineering deliverables on this project and we look forward to working with them throughout the development engineering and turbine manufacturing phases.”
Source: BV