Finding (Re)Purpose: The Power of a Pre-Feasibility Analysis in Coal Repurposing Case Study

RMI conducted a pre-feasibility analysis on a coal power plant in Indonesia's Java-Bali region, evaluating four transition scenarios: baseline operation, early retirement without repurposing, early retirement with clean energy repurposing, and biomass co-firing. The analysis found that early retirement is financially feasible, especially with blended financing, and that clean repurposing via solar PV and battery storage offers the highest value and emissions reductions, provided land constraints are overcome. Conversely, biomass co-firing was found to be generally unprofitable due to high retrofit costs.

• Early retirement of the coal plant without repurposing is a financially viable path for stakeholders, but the use of blended financing is critical to prevent the transition from increasing electricity costs.
• Repurposing the plant site with battery storage and solar PV can increase emissions reductions and investor value, though the scale of these benefits is limited by the available land footprint at the existing site.
• Biomass co-firing is generally not profitable because the capital expenditures required for retrofitting the plant and processing fuel typically exceed the savings gained from reduced coal fuel costs.
• Future value could be unlocked through innovative repurposing options such as stand-alone thermal energy storage—which utilizes existing steam cycles and transmission assets—or flexible operation, provided that regulatory frameworks and remuneration models are established.

APA

RMI (2024). Finding (Re)Purpose: The Power of a Pre-Feasibility Analysis in Coal Repurposing Case Study. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2024/07/finding_re_purpose_case_study.pdf

Chicago

RMI. Finding (Re)Purpose: The Power of a Pre-Feasibility Analysis in Coal Repurposing Case Study. 2024. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2024/07/finding_re_purpose_case_study.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Finding (Re)Purpose: The Power of a Pre-Feasibility Analysis in Coal Repurposing Case Study |date=July 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2024/07/finding_re_purpose_case_study.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024finding, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Finding (Re)Purpose: The Power of a Pre-Feasibility Analysis in Coal Repurposing Case Study}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2024/07/finding_re_purpose_case_study.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }