(EnergyAsia, March 12 2012, Monday) — A consortium comprising Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, PT Supreme Energy and International Power – GDF SUEZ has agreed to jointly develop as well as purchase electricity from two world-scale geothermal power projects on Sumatra Island in Indonesia.

The consortium signed power purchase agreements (PPA) with Indonesian state utility PLN through their Jakarta-based joint investment companies, PT Supreme Energy Muara Laboh and PT Supreme Energy Rajabasa.

According to Sumitomo Corp, this is the first time that a Japanese company has taken on a role as developer of a geothermal power project.

The consortium will build a geothermal plant of 220MW capacity each in Muara Laboh in West Sumatra and Rajabasa in Lampung province.

Sumitomo, which joined the projects in February 2011, said the consortium is targeting to start up both plants in 2016.

The company said: “We expect to secure financing for the projects through project finance with the assistance of Japan Bank for International Cooperation and other interested financial institutions, and to procure the main equipment for the power stations such as geothermal steam turbines and generators from a Japanese manufacturer with advanced technology and rich experience all over the world.”

Sumitomo said it has a “very successful record” in developing geothermal projects and in supplying geothermal steam turbines, having installed and supplied more than 2,000MW of geothermal power capacity around the world. Of this, it has installed around 640MW in Indonesia, which accounts for more than half the country’s geothermal power capacity.