Biofuel politiconomics
Indonesia is in the mood of everything related to biofuel, biodiesel, or bioenergy. And it's not just a respond to sky-high fossil fuel price. It's about politics for 2009 election.
Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told the press today that a limited cabinet meeting chaired by president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Malang, East Java over the weekend set the target of 2010 for a mass consumption of biofuel in the country that has been struggling to keep up fossil oil production with increasing demand.
As reported by Detik.com in Sunday, Purnomo said by 2010 biofuel could save 10% the consumption of traditional diesel oil and gasoline, plus 50% of the country's electricity. Ambitious plan. Late last year, research ministry announced that by 2015, up to 10% of the nation's oil consumption could be met with biofuel.
Biofuel, according to the cabinet meeting, supports three basic policies: Pro-Growth, Pro-Poor, and Pro-Jobs. Pro-Growth means biofuel would support a higher economic growth, pro-poor means significant cut in fossil fuel subsidy, and pro-jobs means creating new jobs in the biofuel industry right from its upstream (plantation and the such) to downstreams (biodiesel plants and distribution).
President's spokesperson Andi Malarangeng claimed the program would create jobs for 3.5 million people.
Several raw materials were mentioned in the roadmap to biofuel. They're palm oil, molasses, casava, jatropha etc. Industry Minister Fahmi Idris came quickly with government's plan to build eight biofuel plants with jatropha as the raw materials.
In fact, companies have jumped into the business in a frenzy way in the last few months. Life science company DuPont, for example, announced its innitiative to produce biofuel based on corn in Indonesia in a cooperation with Beyond Petroleum (BP). Some state-owned and local private companies have also announced innitiatives to produce biodiesel based on palm oil. Big palm oil companies like Astra Agro, Bakrie Sumatra Plantations, for example, have announced their respective plans to build biodiesel plants. Wilmar Trading, the largest CPO trader in Asia, is reportedly drops a plan to build biodiesel plant in Singapore and relocate that to Indonesia. Others plans to build ethanol plants based on molasses in various parts of the country.
But the country, just like others, is facing the dilemma. Excessive land usage, for example, could raise the environmental problem in itself. Government claimed there are 50 million hectares of land in Indonesia that suitable for jatropha plantation.
To be continued........
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Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told the press today that a limited cabinet meeting chaired by president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Malang, East Java over the weekend set the target of 2010 for a mass consumption of biofuel in the country that has been struggling to keep up fossil oil production with increasing demand.
As reported by Detik.com in Sunday, Purnomo said by 2010 biofuel could save 10% the consumption of traditional diesel oil and gasoline, plus 50% of the country's electricity. Ambitious plan. Late last year, research ministry announced that by 2015, up to 10% of the nation's oil consumption could be met with biofuel.
Biofuel, according to the cabinet meeting, supports three basic policies: Pro-Growth, Pro-Poor, and Pro-Jobs. Pro-Growth means biofuel would support a higher economic growth, pro-poor means significant cut in fossil fuel subsidy, and pro-jobs means creating new jobs in the biofuel industry right from its upstream (plantation and the such) to downstreams (biodiesel plants and distribution).
President's spokesperson Andi Malarangeng claimed the program would create jobs for 3.5 million people.
Several raw materials were mentioned in the roadmap to biofuel. They're palm oil, molasses, casava, jatropha etc. Industry Minister Fahmi Idris came quickly with government's plan to build eight biofuel plants with jatropha as the raw materials.
In fact, companies have jumped into the business in a frenzy way in the last few months. Life science company DuPont, for example, announced its innitiative to produce biofuel based on corn in Indonesia in a cooperation with Beyond Petroleum (BP). Some state-owned and local private companies have also announced innitiatives to produce biodiesel based on palm oil. Big palm oil companies like Astra Agro, Bakrie Sumatra Plantations, for example, have announced their respective plans to build biodiesel plants. Wilmar Trading, the largest CPO trader in Asia, is reportedly drops a plan to build biodiesel plant in Singapore and relocate that to Indonesia. Others plans to build ethanol plants based on molasses in various parts of the country.
But the country, just like others, is facing the dilemma. Excessive land usage, for example, could raise the environmental problem in itself. Government claimed there are 50 million hectares of land in Indonesia that suitable for jatropha plantation.
To be continued........
Labels: ASTRA, Bakrie, Biodiesel, Electricity, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Wilmar
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posted by yosef at 7:09 PM
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