By Febry Silaban
PT Supreme Energy Rantau Dedap has fulfilled all conditions precedent and reached financial closing allowing the first drawdown under the US$50 million facility agreement, provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) supported by the Clean Technology Fund, for the Rantau Dedap Geothermal project in South Sumatra.
"Supreme got a breakthrough from ADB. This is a milestone and the first time in history that a bank wants joining to invest by giving a loan for exploration activities," President Director & CEO of Supreme Energy Triharyo Indrawan Soesilo said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He said that on Tuesday the company has conducted the opening of road infrastructure along 40 km and building wellpads. "We have completed to drill three wells, and now we are drilling the fourth well."
He expects that the company will complete exploration drilling program in 2015.
"If developed to targeted capacity of 240 MW, the project is expected to be able to support geothermal power generation capacity over 30 years to provide electricity access for around 490,000 households and an estimated net reduction in carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 1.1 million tons per year. The project is part of the second 10,000 MW government accelerated electricity development program, of which around 4,000 MW should come from geothermal resources," he explained.
The project will be implemented under a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement with state owned electricity firm PT PLN that was signed on Nov. 12, 2012, and a business viability guarantee from the Ministry of Finance that was signed on Nov. 21, 2012.
The borrower, Supreme Energy Rantau Dedap, is a special purpose vehicle established in Indonesia to explore and develop the geothermal resources, and to construct, operate, and maintain the completed power plant and facilities. The shareholders of the project company are GDF Suez, Marubeni Corp. and Supreme Energy.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon
