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Cost, technology cast doubts on CCS plans
According to experts, implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Indonesia within five years will be challenging because of the high costs of the novel technology and low expectations for scaling up.
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Burying carbon: The Tambak Lorok gas-fired power plant in Semarang, Central Java, is among several power plants at which state-owned electricity company PLN is studying the implementation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to reduce carbon emissions. (Courtesy /of Indonesia Power)
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dopting carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Indonesia within five years will be challenging, according to experts, because of the costly novel technology and low expectations for scaling up.
Usually discussed only in expert circles, the issue featured prominently last Friday in the live streamed vice presidential debate.
Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the running mate to presidential candidate and current Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, questioned his rival, vice presidential candidate Mahfud MD, on CCS regulations.
Mahfud, who is running alongside presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo and who served as the chief justice of the Constitutional Court, declined to disclose any details, pointing instead to the importance of a robust regulatory framework on CCS and good governance.
“An expert on regulations doesn’t necessarily have to know the nitty-gritty of [every regulation]. There are lawmaking processes. As for how I would regulate CCS, what’s important to me is that a financial auditing system is put in place,” Mahfud said.
Depleted reservoirs and saline aquifers in Indonesia contain a potential CO2 storage capacity of 400 to 600 gigatonnes.
Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) executive director Fabby Tumiwa noted that the government needed to consider several factors as the current state of CCS development differed significantly from earlier predictions by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
