Innovation of Geothermal Power Plant with LCA

About

Kamojang geothermal power plant plays an essential role in the history of geothermal in Indonesia. It stands as the first-ever geothermal power plant which is built in Indonesia. Since it was commercially operated in 1982, Kamojang geothermal power plant has constantly delivered 140 MW of electricity to the Java-Bali grid. Kamojang geothermal power plant supports Java-Bali electrical grid in terms of baseload power. As it is located in West Java, Kamojang geothermal power plant supplies mainly to RegionII of the grid. Kamojang geothermal field develops in terms of the Joint Operation Committee (JOC) of two large companies, PT. Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) is the steam supplier and PT. IndonesiaPower (IP) is a power generation company.

Challenge

Energy needs in Indonesia are increasing every year in line with the increasing population. Under the National Energy Council (2016), population growth increased on average by 0.8% annually year 2050. While the growth of energy needs also experienced an average increase of 4.9% per year until 2050. Improvement energy is not proportional to the reserves and energy production is still dominated by fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas, whereas fossil energy reserves such as petroleum have decreased by 1.2% (National Energy Council, 2016). In addition, fossil energy is classified as the energy that is not can be updated so that one day the backup will run out. Based on data from British Petroleum in 2014 shows that fuel reserves fossils will be exhausted in 10 years. These conditions require Indonesia to develop the potential of renewable energy it has. Currently, the government is making renewable energy (EBT) a top priority for providing energy in the future (Center for Energy Resources Development Technology, 2016). One of the efforts made by the Government is to target the Development of a Geothermal Power Plant (GPP) of 35,000 MW in Indonesia. This target needs to be achieved considering the potential of geothermal in Indonesia is very large. According to the Coal and Geothermal Energy Resources Center (2012), in 2012, Geothermal potential in Indonesia is 28,835 MW or 40% of geothermal potential worldwide, while new ones are being utilized only about 1,401 MW. GPP is a power plant that utilizes existing geothermal in the bowels of the earth as a source of energy.

However, exploration activities for the development of geothermal potential in Indonesia have not run optimally. One of the causes is the presence of local people around the site exploration that the development of GPP can cause environmental damage. One impact on the environment generated by GPP is the emissions of CO2 and CH4. Although the concentration is not as big as the emissions produced by fossil fuels, however, these emissions continue to contribute to global warming. Indonesia as a member of the United Nations (UN) participated contribute to preventing and reducing the potential for global warming and world climate change through its participation in ratifying Paris

The agreement contains provisions on the contribution of a country (Nationally Determined Contribution) to the environmental impact mitigation for implemented in 2020 in accordance with RI Law No. 16 of 2016 This means that power plants and industries in Indonesia should pay attention to emissions the exhaust gas it produces. Therefore, there is an effort to measure the consumption and flow of energy and environmental aspects related to a product and its life cycle one of the methods used is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) reinforced in the ISO 14000 Environmental Management System. The method is used to analyze and evaluate potential impacts on the environment at each stage in the life cycle of a product or service by considering the input, process, and output of material and energy flows as well as waste generated in the industry. Thus, this study can be used to inform the energy policyholder in Indonesia about the energy consumption and environmental impact caused by GPP as one of the national-scale electrical energy providers through the 35,000 MW program so that the energy policy can be designed according to the desired target, such as determining materials and production processes that can reduce emissions during the life cycle of the GPP. In addition, this study is also expected to address the concerns of local communities around the geothermal exploration field about the environmental impacts of GPP operations in the surrounding area of Kamojang

Solution

Data collection is done from primary data sources as well as secondary data. Some preliminary data sources are obtained by measuring and observing directly. Primary data of the result of measurement is done to obtain specification data of GPP activity, such as dry steam supply, construction, electricity grid, and power generation process, especially in condensation and cooling tower process.

The result is that GPP gained a good understanding of the impact of core process components (steam distribution, power generation process, WWTP, and construction) and the GPP system on their total footprint. They also gained insight into the contribution of processes such as Non-Condensable Gas (NCG) from the cooling tower, sludge from WWTP, and waste from the office.

Benefit

In addition, there are two power plant categories based on the number of carbon emissions produced during the process, namely fossil fuel technology and low carbon technology. Fossil fuel technology is a power plant that utilizes fossil fuel as a fuel source, such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas. This technology is known as not environmentally friendly and sustainable because of its limited availability. While low carbon technology is a power plant that produces low-carbon emissions because it utilizes natural resources as an energy source. This technology is known to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable because of its abundant availability in nature.

To know the difference in carbon emissions produced, it is necessary to analyze the carbon footprint comparison of the 2 categories From the analysis of carbon footprint, GPP is classified as a power plant with Low carbon technologies.

The LCA results were used for a brainstorming workshop with decision makers or the government and the National Electricity Company (PLN) to identify a wide variety of next steps for the Geothermal Power Plant (GPP). The workshop included perspectives such as the relevant rules and regulations, design and innovation, procurement, and company strategy. This approach placed the LCA results in the broader context of the company, which makes it easier for the findings to be applied in practice.

Overall, the study and workshop provided a good starting point to work toward decreasing the environmental footprint of GPP and improving NCG, and minimizing sludge.