The Energy and Mineral
Resources Ministry hopes to increase the electricity generating capacity of
biogas power plants in the country to 14.8 megawatts (MW).
The ministry’s director of
bioenergy, Sudjoko Harsono Adi, said on Wednesday that the current installed
capacity of biogas power plants had reached 3.6 MW, paving the way to reach the
government’s goal of having 23 percent of the country’s energy coming from
renewable sources by 2025.
“The expected capacity
will increase significantly because there are currently 25 companies that have
applied for permits for the installation of biogas power plants,” he said
during the 2016 Biogas Indonesia Forum held by the Indonesian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
The Energy and Mineral
Resources Ministry has emphasized the importance of the development of new and
renewable energy sources as the country currently imports around 800,000
barrels of fuel a day.
However, the ministry had
also stated that it needed Rp 1.6 quadrillion (US$121.6 billion) to achieve a
power portfolio consisting of 23 percent renewable energy by 2025. The large
sum has pushed the government to set up an energy security fund, the management
body of which is set to be established this year.
Sudjoko said that the
government has undertaken several efforts to stimulate investment in the biogas
energy sector, including the revision of biogas feed-in tariffs, which are
currently described in a 2014 ministerial decree on electricity purchases by
state-owned electricity companies from biogas and biomass power plants. The
current regulation sets the minimum price at Rp 1,050 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
Meanwhile, Kadin’s vice
chairman of renewable energy and the environment, Halim Kalla, said that
renewable energy sources still only provided about 5 percent of energy consumed
and bioenergy was even lower at little under 1 percent.
However, he shared his
optimism that biogas could make up a large part of the country’s ambitious plan
to develop an additional generation capacity of 35,000 MW of electricity within
five years as biogas could be easily procured from organic materials, including
manure and human waste. The government had aimed for 25
percent of the 35,000 MW to be produced by renewable sources.
“We have around 800 palm
mills that also produce palm oil mill effluent [POME], which can be processed
to be used as biogas,” Halim said.
He added that since the
800 palm mills processed approximately 100,000 tons of fresh fruit bunches
(tbs), the resulting process could eventually produce about 1,300 MW of
electricity.
Furthermore, Halim added
that the utilization of biogas as an energy source could assist in providing
electricity in remote areas that cannot be reached by the national grid since
biogas could be procured locally almost anywhere.
Although the ministry has
not announced the new feed-in tariff, Indonesian Biogas Association
secretary-general Trio Chadys said that he heard the new prices would be listed
in dollars.
“The last we heard, the
prices would be set in dollars. The previous price was Rp 1,050, [and it is
rumored] the new price will be $11.75 for biogas. If it is true, it will probably be more economically feasible for
investors,” he said.
