OREANDA-NEWS.    Supporting the need for distributed power in Indonesia, GE (NYSE: GE) today announced that it has signed three contracts for distributed power projects featuring the company’s gas engine technology, including the country’s first integrated biomass-to-power plants for on-grid applications using bamboo and woody biomass feedstock.

“With our Distributed Power business, GE has numerous technologies that can hasten the substitution of natural gas for diesel throughout the more than 17,000 islands of the Indonesian archipelago. Making the move to natural gas and biogas will go beyond helping Indonesia improve its fiscal sustainability and energy security to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Handry Satriago, CEO Indonesia, GE.

GE announced that its integrated biomass gasification solution featuring GE’s syngas engine technology will power biomass-to-power demonstration plants in Indonesia. The plans, part of a broader cooperation between GE, PLN and developer PT Clean Power Indonesia (CPI), call for the development of demonstration and full-scale power facilities using GE’s integrated biomass-to-power solution as well as supporting industries critical to the development of sustainable, local fuel sources. Two plants were announced as part of the cooperations: a previously announced large-scale 1-megawatt facility on Sumba island, and a demonstration plant in Bangli, Bali, producing greater than 150 kilowatts of electricity. The biomass gasification demo plants will use biomass from local, sustainable sources, such as bamboo and wood waste. These are the first bamboo and wood biomass gasification projects for on-grid applications in the country.

Further evidence of GE’s commitment to distributed power in Indonesia is its recent contract to provide four Waukesha 12V275GL+ gas engines and two Waukesha VGF48GL units to help upgrade Pertamina’s Lembak gas compression station facility near Palembang city. This project will increase the gas transmission pressure to the customer’s liquid stripping plant and fertilizing plant. GE’s proven gas engine technology is well suited for Pertamina’s required compression application power requirements, fuel gas availability, emissions regulation requirements (400 mg/nm3 NOx and 500 mg/nm3 CO) and continuous duty operation reliability needs. This is the first compression application of GE’s 12V275GL+ gas engines in Indonesia. The natural gas units will be installed beginning in March of this year, and commercial operation is expected in June 2014.

Also announced today, GE Oil & Gas and GE’s Distributed Power businesses signed a memorandum of understanding with PLN Enjiniring to jointly develop an integrated virtual pipeline power generation project in Indonesia. In the remote islands of Indonesia, where pipeline infrastructure is scarce, small, modular and flexible power solutions are important to producing fuel and energy for the country. Pulling from GE Oil & Gas’ Distributed Gas Solutions portfolio of small-scale, modular natural gas fueling systems combined with Distributed Power’s power generation gas turbine and engine technology, the initiative to offer a comprehensive marginal gas-to-power solution with PLN Enjiniring could minimize the need for a formal pipeline infrastructure on the islands, assist with peaking power demands and allow for diesel replacement and cost savings with natural gas power generation.

Through this structure, the availability of small volume gas can be compressed or liquefied, transported, stored and regasified at a distanced demand location, thereby creating a “virtual” pipeline for power that could be modeled throughout the country.

These announcements were made today as GE launched its new Distributed Power business to meet the world’s growing demand for on-site power systems that are easier to finance, faster to install and more efficient and reliable for customers than large-scale power projects. GE’s distributed power product portfolio includes Jenbacher and Waukesha gas engines, aeroderivative gas turbines and Clean Cycle waste heat recovery solutions with an output range of 100 kilowatts to 100 megawatts.