16 February 2020

Indonesia still needs a lot of electricity. To meet these needs, Indonesia must maximize the potential that can generate electricity while still referring to environmentally friendly so as not to affect climate change.

The use of fossil fuels to generate electricity has caused problems. Apart from the diminishing availability of fossil fuels, it is also not environmentally friendly.

“The use of renewable energy to generate electricity must continue to be developed,” said CEO of PT Mahkota Group Tbk, Usli Sarsi, by cellular phone recently.

Indonesia as the largest palm oil producing country in the world has the potential to develop biogas to generate electricity.

“We welcome the signing of two definitive agreements with GREE Energy on February 19 to develop biogas projects in Indonesia at two palm oil mills,” Usli said.

The biogas project will be connected to the Indonesian power company, PLN, each with a 20-year power purchase agreement. The project will generate 3 MW of clean, reliable electricity and reach more than 27,000 people with 16 GWh of electricity generated per year.

Usli hopes that the partnership with GREE Energy will bring positive impacts to the community and contribute to reducing emissions, which is in line with our values in implementing the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) sustainability standard. The benefits of this project will be used to support the Mahkota Foundation which focuses on education.

Meanwhile, CEO and founder of GREE Energy, Nicolas Stirer, said that this is one of the steps to mitigate the impact of climate change through innovative solutions by reducing 76,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year, which is equivalent to the emissions of 42,000 people.

In addition, a total of 13,000 tons of BOD (biological oxygen demand) will be cleaned per year, equivalent to domestic waste generated by 1.6 million people. These projects will contribute to the Mahkota Group's refineries in Riau, whose needs continue to increase while still applying sustainability principles in line with ISPO, and supporting sustainable development goals (SDGs) through innovative renewable energy projects.

“We are very pleased to be able to partner with a large group, such as Mahkota and assist them in the transition to more sustainable production, dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from their two factories.

The partnership will also boost the local economy and promote inclusive development and prosperity in the villages surrounding the project”, said Nicolas Stirer.

Source :  https://analisadaily.com/e-paper/2020-02-16/mobile/index.html#p=16