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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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Wednesday, 01 October 14
ASIAN THERMAL COAL PRICES TO REMAIN WEAK ON OVERSUPPLY - FITCH
COALspot.com: The thermal coal market in Asia will remain oversupplied in the next 12 months, in spite of on-going rationalisation of production, a ...
Wednesday, 01 October 14
PANAMAXES: DEFENSIVE, STRUGGLING TO KEEP ANY FURTHER DECREASES - INTERMODAL
COALspot.com: The Dry Bulk market seemed unable to shake off the trend of the week prior and the BDI remained on a downward slope for the bigger pa ...
Wednesday, 01 October 14
FITCH: GLOBAL ECONOMY FACES MULTI-SPEED RECOVERY, MULTIPLE RISKS
Fitch Ratings says in its latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO) that global growth will pick up in 2015 and 2016, but risks are weighted to the down ...
Tuesday, 30 September 14
COALVIEW TO PARTICIPATE AT MET COKE WORLD SUMMIT 2014 IN CHICAGO
COALspot.com: Coalview Ltd., LLC(“Coalview”) America's leading fully integrated coal technology and fine coal recovery company prov ...
Monday, 29 September 14
INDONESIAN COAL EXPORT VOLUME FALL IN AUGUST
COALspot.com: Indonesia, one of the world's largest coal producers and the global leading multi grade coal exporter shipped around $1.50 ...
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- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Australian Coal Association
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Planning Commission, India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- White Energy Company Limited
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- The University of Queensland
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- PTC India Limited - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
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