Comparison study of geothermal power generating technologies for Kepahiang reserve in Sumatra, Indonesia

Indonesia is urgently calling to improve their electrification rate as basic human need, adding to its already growing demand for more. This call cannot be ignore given that Indonesia is the fourth most populous country and one of the biggest carbon emitters in the world despite that it is also rich of clean natural resources such as geothermal and hydropower. Yet, the government faces many challenges to reach its goal of providing access to electricity without adding to the carbon footprint. Global community is inclined to take notice and help. This study is to assist the government to develop its abundant geothermal reserves by comparing three different geothermal technologies for the specific reserve site of Kepahiang in Sumatra Indonesia. The site produces high temperature geofluid at 250°C from volcanic system. Still, the acidic nature of the geofluid forces us to look at different alternatives not only the obvious solution of flash cycle plant technology for high temperature system. Three systems are considered: double-flash plant, binary plant, and hybrid single flash with binary bottoming unit. The result points to hybrid flash/binary system as possibly the best solution for Kepahiang reserve out of the three options