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inland has long been the global leader of developing renewable energy, such as biomass and biofuel. The Jakarta Post recently spoke with Finland’s Undersecretary of State Esko Hamilo about his country’s commitment to help support Indonesia in developing renewable energy, especially biomass. Excerpts follow.

Question: How important is the use of renewable energy today?

Answer: Finland is the most energy-efficient country in the world. We have developed advanced technologies on renewable energy making us a country that is extremely energy efficient.

We are going more and more into renewable energy due to prolonged climate change pressures, as well as pricing pressures on fossil-based energy. We see Indonesia as a country with huge possibilities of using that [renewable energy] technology.

So, we keep searching for possibilities on how best to present Finnish advanced technology on renewable energy to be used in Indonesia. Renewable energy is something that is necessary for all of us.

We have to go in the renewable direction because there is no other way to cope with the increasing climate change pressures and energy pricing problems.

How many percent of domestic energy consumption in Finland is from renewable energy resources?

Only 26 percent of total domestic energy consumption in Finland comes from renewable energy. The use of renewable energy is projected to reach 38 percent by 2020.

It is quite a challenging target.

We also have huge dependence on nuclear energy. It is not a renewable energy.

However, it is important for our country to use nuclear energy in a way that with nuclear energy we have been able to supplant fossil-based fuel.

On the other side, nuclear energy poses so many problems such as what happened in Japan.

Actually, we have already made decisions to decrease the use of nuclear energy. Indirectly, this reflects our intention to expand the use of renewable energy. The percentage of renewable energy should be larger.

What kind of renewable energies are prioritized by the Finnish government?

Biomass and biofuel are the most important ones. We have seen huge possibilities for Indonesia to develop biomass. It has huge forest residues and household waste.

Let’s take an example, at least 12 million people live in Jakarta. They produce an immense amount of household wastes every day.

We have technology that can turn household waste into energy; therefore, we are looking for possibilities of how best to use our advanced technologies for a better developed renewable energy in Indonesia.

What kind of support can be provided by the Finnish government for Indonesia in developing its own renewable energy?

Technology. We have the best technology available for renewable energy. We have a partnership called “Environment and Energy Partnership”, between the governments of Indonesia and Finland, which was signed on Feb.14.

It provides a grant worth ¤ 4 million for a four-year project of renewable energy development, especially biomass, in Riau and Central Kalimantan.

What is the main obstacle to developing renewable energy?

The fact that it is easy to use fossil fuel is the main obstacle to developing renewable energy. We have to make people realize the danger of using fossil-based fuels. Going into renewable energy is actually the only thing that can save our planet. (ebf)