Study of Hydroelectric Power Plant Potential of Mahakam River Basin East Kalimantan Indonesia

Abstract

East Kalimantan Province will be developed as a new capital city of Indonesia and designed as a smart and green city. It will be supported by the new and renewable energy, and not rely on coal power. In line with the concept, it is very important to study the potential resources of renewable energy in East Kalimantan. The aim of this study is to find out the possibility to develop micro-hydro power plant in seven locations along Mahakam River to substitute the existing PLN's diesel generators. The study begins with Mahakam River assessment including the topology, the flow characteristics and the watershed management policy. Three hydro power schemes are examined to find the best fit for the river. In addition, various types of water turbines for low head applications are also analyzed. At the final stage, the estimated hydropower is compared to the peak load of the PLN’s (State Electricity Company) diesel generator. The results indicate that the generated hydropower in the seven locations exceeds the peak load of each PLN's diesel generators. It means that all of existing PLN's diesel generators can be substituted by the micro-hydroelectric power plant. It gives a figure that the potential of Mahakam River is feasible for hydropower generation from the potential point of view. In addition, run-of-river scheme and three types of local turbine namely propeller, cross flow and pelton, are suggested to be applied for generating system.