[Kompas & Kumparan] Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Launches Biogas Power Plant in Tungkal Ulu

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ignatius Jonan officially inaugurated Asian Agri’s seventh biogas power plant at Tungkal Ulu in Indonesia’s Jambi province on Wednesday.

The minister stated that the government will always support the private sector in building non-polluting power plants.

“It is the hope in the future that every Crude Palm Oil (CPO) mill will also have a power plant like this,” Ignatius said.

A biogas power plant makes use of palm oil waste by processing it in a digester tank, and each plant is capable of generating 2.2 megawatts (MW) of power.

For every 2.2MW of electricity generated, 700 watts is meant for the company’s own use, while the rest will be provided to the public.

Among those also present at the event were Governor of Jambi, Zumi Zola, and Deputy Governor of Jambi, Fachrori Umar,

Zumi welcomed the establishment of the biogas plant, and expressed hope that some of the electricity will be given for free to the community within the company’s vicinity.

“We hope that Asian Agri’s innovation can be expanded and eventually lead to the establishment of an Indonesia Terang (‘Bright Indonesia’) program in the Jambi province,” he said.

Asian Agri Head of Operations, Bukit Sanjaya explained that the company’s efforts to develop and build biogas plants began in 2015 in line with the company’s zero-waste management policy.

Asian Agri currently already operates six other biogas plants, and aims to build a total of 20 biogas plants by 2020.

Read the full article (Bahasa): Kompas and Kumparan