Biofuels are
expected to account for more than a quarter of transportation fuel consumption
worldwide by 2050, but Indonesia could miss out on the benefits without greater
government commitment to local biofuel production.
Paulus Tjakrawan, secretary general of the Indonesian Biofuel Producers
Association (Aprobi), told the Jakarta Globe on Friday that the country’s
standing as the world’s largest palm oil producer and ninth-largest sugarcane
producer made it well-placed to take advantage of the boom.
“Production has to start big,” he said.
“We have a calculation to determine whether it’s going to be profitable
to start selling biodiesel in eastern Indonesia or not,” he added, referring to
the restriction of biofuel sales to just the western islands of Sumatra, Java,
Madura and Bali.
The International Energy Agency predicts that if consumption trends
continue at the current rate, biofuels could make up 27 percent of total
worldwide transportation fuel consumption by 2050.
The biofuels currently available in Indonesia include biodiesel and
biogasoline, both sold by state oil and gas company Pertamina under the trade
names Biosolar and Biopremium/Biopertamax respectively.
Biosolar is classified as a B5 biofuel, which means it contains 95
percent diesel and 5 percent biofuel derived from palm oil. As of last month,
however, the biofuel content was raised to 7.5 percent.
Though not widely available nationwide, it is the lowest blend of
biodiesel available for which no modifications are required to the car engine.
Higher blends of 20 percent (B20) and up are cleaner in terms of emissions, but
require some form of modification to engines and gas tanks, which would require
automakers to produce new parts.
Biopremium and Biopertamax are similarly not available at all Pertamina
stations. Both are classified as E5 (95 percent gasoline and 5 percent
ethanol), which again is the highest blend available that does not require
engine modification. However, ethanol for this purpose is most often
synthesized from sugarcane or maize.
Indonesia might be the 16th-largest ethanol-producing country in the
world, but its output equalled only 1 percent of Brazil’s total bioethanol
production, Paulus said.
Bioethanol production here in 2010 was 244,000 kiloliters, most of
which was used for industrial consumption.
The government actually terminated its bioethanol program in 2010
following a series of disagreements on the market price index formulation
between producers and the Energy Ministry.
Paulus said the benefits of boosting biofuel production went beyond
just energy diversification. The manufacturing of biodiesel also produces as a
side product crude glycerin, a chemical that can be used to manufacture soaps
and cosmetics.
Biofuel production will also provide jobs for many Indonesians and
reduce carbon emissions, he argued.
“Pertamina uses 350,000 kiloliters of biodiesel in its fuel mixture,”
he said.
“This amount of biodiesel alone requires the employment of 30,000
workers, from palm oil plantations to final distribution, and can potentially
decrease CO2 emissions by 900,000 tons. If we use imported fossil fuel, we
won’t reap such benefits.”
He also played down arguments that biofuel would have an adverse impact
on domestic food prices.
“Currently we produce 23 million tons of crude palm oil, 70 percent of
which is exported. We could use more biofuel for consumption at home and export
less of it, and it still would not impact food prices,” he said.
Michael Victor Sianipar
The Jakarta Globe
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