Indonesia’s largest floating solar plant to expand to 500 MW

Abu Dhabi-based Masdar and PLN Nusantara Power, an Indonesian state-owned electricity generator, have agreed to more than triple the size of the Cirata floating PV power plant in West Java so it can generate 500 MW.

A floating solar array, managed by PLN NP, in Indonesia.

Image: PLN NP

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The Cirata floating PV power plant at Cirata Reservoir in West Java, Indonesia, is scheduled to start generating 145 MW by the end of the year.

This week, however, the project's two managing companies – Masdar and Indonesian-headquartered electricity generator PLN Nusantara Power – announced in a press release they had agreed to expand the floating PV plant more than threefold to 500 MW.

The companies did not say when the project expansion would be complete.

In January 2020, Masdar said it had signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the government-owned electric utility, to build what it then claimed was Southeast Asia’s largest floating PV project.

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The project can now expand operations because Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works and Housing now permits up to 20% of water coverage can be used for renewable energy, according to the press release.

A recent study showed that Indonesia had the potential for floating PV on 2,719 suitable bodies of water, with 271,897 MW of potential capacity and 369,059 GWh/year of potential generation. Indonesia recorded 291 MW of installed solar capacity at the end of 2022, according to the most recent data collated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

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