Mitsubishi Power starts operations of natgas turbine in Indonesia

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Power, a subsidiary of Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, said on Thursday it had started commercial operations of a 500-megawatt natural gas turbine in Indonesia's Muara Karang Power Plant.

Top thermal coal exporter Indonesia is planning to retire its coal-fired power plants gradually, in a phased move towards becoming carbon-neutral by 2060.

The new natural gas-fired gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power generation system was built for Muara Karang Power Plant, which could be among the first power plants in Indonesia to phase out of coal by 2030.

"Mitsubishi Power is committed to supporting this growing need in Indonesia with our gas turbine technology that can significantly reduce CO2 emissions when compared with conventional coal-fired power plants," President of Mitsubishi Power Indonesia Kazuki Ishikura said.

The Muara Karang Power Plant, run by state utility Perusahan Listrik Nasional (PLN), is located 10 km (6.2 miles) northwest of Jakarta and supports the electricity requirement of the capital city.

This project is also a part of the government's ambitious programme to develop 35 gigawatts of new power, Mitsubishi Power said in the statement.

Indonesia had plans to add 35 gigawatts of power capacity by 2029, but only achieved 30.2% of the target by the end of September.

(Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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