Dutch energy firms want Indonesia partners

Dutch energy firms want Indonesia partners

JAKARTA (JP): Forty-five Dutch energy companies are looking
for partners to develop power stations in Indonesia using clean
coal technology.

"About 40 percent of electricity in the Netherlands is coal
based. We have been able to develop clean coal technology, where
a very high efficiency goes along with very low emissions," the
director-general of energy at the Dutch ministry of economics,
C.W.M. Dessens, told a workshop yesterday.

Dessens is here as part of a mission to Indonesia.

The workshop, which ends today, is organized by the
Netherlands' Ministry of Economic Affairs, Senter (the
Netherlands' executive agency for technology, energy and
environment), the Royal Netherlands Embassy and the Indonesian
Netherlands Association.

Senter project officer Bas C.M. Pulles said the 45 companies
comprised big and small firms and about half of then had
representatives in Indonesia or business relations with
Indonesia.

Several Dutch universities were involved in the mission, he
said.

Besides clean coal technology, the seminar discussed oil and
gas technology, renewable energy, electricity and electricity
networks.

Dessens said energy use in Indonesia had risen considerably
over the past three decades.

The state-electricity company PLN will increase Indonesia's
power generation capacity from 13,129 Megawatts (MW) to 39,000 MW
by 2004.

Currently, Indonesian coal-fired plants make about 3,500 MW of
power but PLN plans to lift this to 31,000 MW by 2010.

The Royal Netherlands Embassy said the Dutch Government had
developed a subsidy scheme called Indonestec for businesspeople
and universities to promote technological cooperation between
Indonesia and the Netherlands.

The Dutch government will spend 11.4 million gilders (US$6.04
million) on the program over four years, including 2.8 million
gilders last year. (jsk)