Toshiba is providing an IoT service to improve the use of power generation facilities at Indonesia’s PT Geo Dipa Energi (GDE)’s Patuha geothermal power plant.

The group of geothermal power plants operated and managed by GDE, Indonesia’s state-owned geothermal power company, began operation in 2014, and has a rated output of 60,000kW.

Toshiba’s service uses IoT and AI technologies, including predictive failure diagnosis and performance monitoring at the plant. This contract is the group’s first commercial application of IoT services for geothermal power plants.

The service represents a commercial version of what has been implemented as a Nedo (New Energy & Industrial Technology Development Organisation) demonstration project for this power plant in October 2019. The demonstration project verified the effectiveness of the company’s IoT-based predictive failure diagnosis technology and helped with the contract’s conclusion.

The system provided through this service employs EtaPro, a software suite acquired by Japanese firm Toshiba last year, and represents the world’s first commercial application of EtaPro to a geothermal power plant.

AI is used to analyse real-time power plant operation data obtained from various sensors and detect signs of anomalies that may cause problems during normal operation. In doing so, it reduces the number and duration of power plant shutdowns; a demonstration project conducted by Nedo showed that it could reduce the rate at which problems occurred by over 20%.

Another feature is the ability to detect signs of anomalies under conditions specific to geothermal power plants, such as the unstable condition of the steam flowing into the turbine, which is not the case with thermal power plants.

In Indonesia, the total installed power generating capacity was approximately 62GW in 2020, with coal-fired power generation accounting for about half this. In accordance with the Paris Agreement, the Indonesian government has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 29% by 2030; geothermal power generation will account for about 3.4GW (about 8%) of the 40.6GW of power generation capacity to be added by 2030.

Toshiba has delivered equipment to several geothermal power plants in Indonesia. It says it will be proactive in proposing IoT services that enable optimal operation. By deploying this service worldwide, Toshiba aims to reduce the cost of power generation by helping improve power plants’ use rates, thereby promoting the spread of geothermal power generation and helping achieve carbon neutrality.