Techno-economic Analysis of Biomass Co-firing Application on Indonesia 660 MW Class Subcritical Coal-Fired Power Plant
Abstract
Following the publication of the Ministerial of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia Decree number 14.K/TL.04/MEM.L/2023 regarding the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission cap for coal-fired power plant (CFPP), PLN, the electricity company owned by Indonesia, is attempting the GHG reduction of its CFPPs at certain levels through several decarbonization programs, with biomass co-firing on its existing CFPP as the first step. The CFPP that becomes the object of this study is 660 MW class subcritical, Suralaya units 5-7, with a net capacity of 643.09 MW per unit. The biomass used is sawdust that was taken from local suppliers. The existing power plant has a carbon emission intensity of 1.03 Ton/MWh, higher than that of the carbon cap (0.911 Ton/MWh). Therefore, it should pay a carbon tax at a certain value. The biomass co-firing implementation can reduce its intensity depending on the ratio. The biomass implementation would probably require an upgrade investment. The other cost-effect factors are fuel cost and carbon tax. The degradation of CFPP performance can impact on fuel costs. Then, the biomass co-firing implementation can reduce or even prevent a power plant from paying the carbon tax. The best option regarding the financial calculation result is a 5% ratio. It potentially reduces the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) by 0.36 IDR/kWh. However, a higher biomass ratio will probably increase the power plant LCOE. Implementing a higher biomass co-firing ratio does not always result in better financial aspects. The decision to implement shall consider the valid regulation comprehensively.
References
Adhiguna, P., 2021. “Indonesia’s Biomass Co-firing Bet Beware of the Implementation Risks.” Ieefa, 1–34. B20, 2022. Energy, Sustainability, and Climate Task Force. Bali.
Drbal, L.F., Boston, P.G., Westra, K.L., and Erickson, R.B., 1996. Power Plant Engineering, 1st ed, Power Plant Engineering. Springer, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0427-2
Hariana, Prabowo, Hilmawan, E., Milky Kuswa, F., Darmawan, A., and Aziz, M., 2023. “A comprehensive evaluation of co-firing biomass with coal and slagging-fouling tendency in pulverized coal-fired boilers.” Ain Shams Eng. J. 14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2022.102001
Hedianto, D., and Daryanto, W.M., 2019. “The Analysis of capital budgeting model for the overland conveyor and ship loading facilities project of PT ABC.” IJBEL, 19, 1.
Leuschke, F., and Babcock, D., 2018. Aspects of biomass co-firing for utility-sized CFB boilers.” 8th Co-Firing biomass with coal workshop, Copenhagen, Denmark, 11-13 September 2018.
Ministerial of Energy and Mineral Resources, 2022. Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Decree no. 18.K/HK.02/MEM.B/2022.
Ministerial of Energy and Mineral Resources Decree, n.d. Ministerial of Energy and Mineral Resources Decree no. 14.K/TL.04/MEM.L/2023. Indonesia.
Natalia, D., Yoesgiantoro, D., and Citra Yusgiantoro, F., 2022. Projection of Coal-Fired Power Plant (CFPP) towards net zero emission 2060 in Indonesia, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science 6 (5), 465-471.
Osman, A.I., Mehta, N., Elgarahy, A.M., Al-Hinai, A., Al-Muhtaseb, A.H., and Rooney, D.W., 2021. “Conversion of biomass to biofuels and life cycle assessment: a review.” Environ. Chem. Lett. 19, 4075-4118 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01273-0
Peters, J., May, J., Ströhle, J., and Epple, B., 2020. “Flexibility of CFB combustion: An investigation of Co-combustion with biomass and RDF at part load in pilot scale.” Energies 13 (8), 4665. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13184665
President of Indonesia, 2021. Undang-Undang no. 7 Tahun 2021.
Reza, A.M., Batry Heksaprilla, A., Prakoso, A.A., Al, N.F., and Putera, F., 2024. “Investigation of ammonia co-firing effects on combustion equipment performance in an existing PLN 660 MW coal-fired power plant.’ Nanotechnology Perceptions 20, 142-151.
Reza, A.M., Chariri, F., Yurwendra, A.O., Prakoso, A.A., and Rifaldi, M., 2023a. “Combustion Consumables Cost Analysis in 110 MW gross CFB type CFPP Biomass Co-firing Application,” in: 2023 IEEE 3rd International Conference in Power Engineering Applications. pp. 208–2014. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICPEA56918.2023.10093210
Reza, A.M., Nur Arif Wicaksono, A., Heksaprilla, A.B., Setyadi, W., Firmansyah, M., and Asyari, M., 2023b. “Optimizing Power Plant Development for Fakfak System using Generation Expansion Planning,” in: 2023 IEEE 3rd International Conference in Power Engineering Applications: Shaping Sustainability Through Power Engineering Innovation, ICPEA 2023. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 121–126. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICPEA56918.2023.10093194
Reza, A.M., Susetyo, M.A., and Juangsa, F.B., 2021. “Biomass Co-firing Effect on Coal Feeder and Draught Plant for 50 MW Class CFB Boiler Type CFPP,” in: 2021 International Conference on Technology and Policy in Energy and Electric Power. pp. 113–119. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICT-PEP53949.2021.9601047
Sahu, S.G., Chakraborty, N., and Sarkar, P., 2014. “Coal-biomass co-combustion: An overview.” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 39, 575-586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.106
Septian, A., and Muhammad Reza, A., 2024. “Analisis kelayakan investasi modifikasi konveyor dan dermaga bongkar muat batu bara PLTU Sebalang 2 x 100 MW.” Sebatik, 28, 16–24. https://doi.org/10.46984/sebatik.v27i2.2384
Variny, M., Varga, A., Rimár, M., Janošovský, J., Kizek, J., Lukáč, L., Jablonský, G., and Mierka, O., 2021. “Advances in biomass co-combustion with fossil fuels in the European context: A review.” Processes 9 (1),100. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9010100
Xu, Y., Yang, K., Zhou, J., and Zhao, G., 2020. “Coal-biomass co-firing power generation technology: Current status, challenges and policy implications.” Sustainability 12 (9), 3692. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093692
Copyright (c) 2025 ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder for articles is ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering. Articles published in ASEAN J. Chem. Eng. are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.
Authors agree to transfer all copyright rights in and to the above work to the ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering Editorial Board so that the Editorial Board shall have the right to publish the work for non-profit use in any media or form. In return, authors retain: (1) all proprietary rights other than copyright; (2) re-use of all or part of the above paper in their other work; (3) right to reproduce or authorize others to reproduce the above paper for authors’ personal use or for company use if the source and the journal copyright notice is indicated, and if the reproduction is not made for the purpose of sale.
