Development of Small Scale Concentrated Solar Power Plant Using Organic Rankine Cycle for Isolated Region in Indonesia

AbstractElectrification ratio in Indonesia by the end of 2011 was about 74%. This means that 26% of the population does not have electricity. Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) is developing small scale concentrated solar power plant using Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) that can be operated in remote, isolated areas or small islands. Some constraints of electrification in these areas are the cost of integrated grid construction is relatively high, the limitation of energy resources and the population of the area is relatively small. Reseach in concentrated solar power (parabolic trough) has been carried out by LIPI since 2010. A stand-alone power unit (“off grid”) by utilizing local energy resources, especially renewable energy, will be constructed by LIPI. A hybrid system of solar thermal and biomass energy can be a suitable choice to solve the electricity problem in the area. This option is based on the relatively good potential intensity of solar energy in some areas of Indonesia which is daily average intensity is about 4.8 kWh/m2/day. This paper presents a series of activities in developing a concentrated solar power plant which includes the conceptual design of the small-scale system with the capacity of 10kW