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Indonesia plans to fuel all diesel power plants with CPO within two years
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan says the government is giving state-owned electricity company PLN two years to fuel all diesel power plants in the country with biodiesel made from crude palm oil.
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Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan, accompanied by Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Arifin Tasrif (left), speaks to Indonesians living in Japan in Tokyo on March 10. (Courtesy of/The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry)
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nergy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan says the government is giving state-owned electricity company PLN two years to fuel all diesel power plants in the country with biodiesel made from crude palm oil (CPO).
Speaking before hundreds of students and other Indonesians living in Japan, Jonan said in Tokyo on Sunday that PLN was currently carrying out a study on how to convert CPO into fuel that could be used for diesel power plants.
“PLN is trying to use palm oil. Currently, the Plaju refinery [in South Sumatra] converts palm oil into diesel fuel,” said Jonan in a statement received on Monday.
Jonan was in Japan to explain to the Indonesians in the country the achievements made in energy development during the four years President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has been in office. Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Arifin Tasrif also attended the event at the Indonesian Embassy.
The government had made it mandatory for refineries to produce 20 percent blended biodiesel (B20) since September last year and currently it has been conducting research into the use of B100 biodiesel as the major source of energy in trying to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels.
Jonan said the main aim of the Jokowi administration was to continue the energy program of previous governments with an emphases on energy distribution to remote areas. To implement the program, the government distributed solar-powered lamps (LTSHE) to 2,519 villages, particularly those not connected to any PLN electricity grid.
Jonan said the LTSHE program contributed 0.12 percent to the national electrification program. He added that the distribution of such technology was needed since PLN electricity networks could not be constructed any time soon in those areas because of geographical challenges. (bbn)
