Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) has announced the completion of the Cirata floating PV power generation project in Indonesia.

Located in the Cirata reservoir in West Java province, the floating solar power plant will generate 300,000MWh of clean energy annually. 

It will help reduce coal usage by 117,000 tons (t) per year.

Cirata project manager Zhang Huizhong stated: “The complex underwater terrain of the Cirata reservoir, including steep underwater slopes, thick silt layers and the presence of virgin forests, all brought huge challenges to the implementation of geological surveys and the design and construction of anchoring systems.

“Our project department worked closely together, drawing on our rich experience of similar projects, adopted construction requirements and procedures higher than local standards and successfully solved technical problems such as high slope support and retaining wall construction to complete construction.”

At the grid connection ceremony, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo said that the country will continue to make use of a range of renewable energy sources to support its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.

Energy sources such as hydropower and thermal energy are currently in the initial stages of development in Indonesia.

Once the floating PV project is fully operational, it is expected to offset annual emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by 214,000t, 9,000t and 4,500t, respectively.

In April 2023, PowerChina completed its largest offshore wind project in South East Asia.

Located in Ca Mau, the southernmost province of Vietnam, the wind farm has a total installed capacity of 350MW.

The project is expected to add 1.1 terawatt-hours of power generation capacity annually, saving 450,000t of standard coal.