Indonesia Tag

Many countries have ambitious plans to increase the amount of energy produced from biomass sources. The European Union’s target to derive 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 could require an additional 40 million dry metric tons annually for the generation of electricity. Add on to this another 60 million tons per year for heating and cooling. In the United States, legislation has been passed requiring a quarter of all national energy to be supplied from renewable sources, including biomass, by 2025. Japan is expected to incorporate more biomass into its energy mix in coming years, particularly after its recent troubles with nuclear energy at the Fukushima plant. Then there is South Korea, which has approved a new Renewable Portfolio Standard targeting 10 percent of its electricity from renewables such as biomass by 2022. The measure could raise South Korea's consumption of biomass pellets to five million tons by the end of the decade.

Good news for the prospect of increased renewable energy development in Indonesia. In mid July the nation’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources announced its desire for IDR 134.6 trillion (USD 15.7 billion) to fund renewable energy projects through 2025. Most, 64 percent, will go to the heavily populated region of Java. Specifically, its distribution will be IDR 25.06 trillion to Sumatra, IDR 86.3 trillion to Java, IDR 15.77 trillion to Sulawesi, IDR 2.64 trillion to Bali-Nusa Tenggara and IDR 4.83 trillion to Papua-Maluku (see map). Indonesia plans on raising the proportion of its energy generated through renewable sources from its current level of 5 percent to 17 percent—up from the previously set 15 percent—over the next 15 years.