Jakarta – The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) announced the projected use of biofuel in Indonesia, which is projected to reach 13.9 million kiloliters (kl) by 2025. The Ministry’s Director of Bioenergy, Edi Wibowo, revealed the target at the Bioenergy Industry Challenges Seminar on Tuesday, February 27.
“Our realisation exceeds RUEN (National Energy General Plan), so we expect 2025 to be the same. For 2024, we set 13.1 million kl, but the allocation is already 13.4 million kl,” he said.
“If you look at the 2023 RUEN target of 11.2 million kl, (the realisation of its utilisation) exceeds the target, namely our distribution of 12.2 million kl,” Wibowo added.
The government is committed to continuing to increase the use of biofuels by setting higher targets than those in RUEN. By 2024, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has allocated 13.4 million kl, indicating a growth trend of 3 per cent year-on-year (yoy).
The high share of bioenergy in energy mix
Wibowo expressed confidence that the target can be achieved, considering that the contribution of bioenergy in the New Renewable Energy (NRE) mix is currently quite high. Acting Director General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), Jisman P Hutajulu, revealed that in 2023, the contribution of renewable energy in the national energy mix reached around 13.2 per cent.
“Bio-energy contributes around 7.7 per cent or about 60 per cent of the total energy mix,” he said.
In this context, biodiesel has played a crucial role with its significant use for the domestic market in 2023, reaching 12.3 million kiloliters. According to Hutajulu, with this achievement, there will be significant foreign exchange savings and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 132 million tons of CO2.
However, Wibowo emphasised that next year’s biofuel allocation still depends on the decision of ESDM’s Directorate General of Oil and Gas because the need for biofuel can change dynamically.
“The allocation depends on next year’s needs, how much we get from the Directorate General of Oil and Gas, then we will set the biodiesel allocation for biodiesel,” he explained. (Hartatik)
