GREEN ENERGY: DEVELOPMENT POTENCY OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

GREEN ENERGY: DEVELOPMENT POTENCY OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

By

Gusmailina & Han Roliadi *)


Summary


Green energy refers to the clean energies that do not pollute or add pollutants to atmospheres. This energy can be derived from water, hydrothermal, hydropower, geothermal, wind power, wastes, biomass, biofuel, and ultimately sea waves. In the future, all green energy should be incorporated in the policy decision on energy development and utilization. Therefore, these renewable or seemingly inexhaustible energies should deserve a prompt emphasize, but not regarded as alternatives.

In attempts to reduce dependency on fossil-oil fuel, the Indonesia government has issued a presidential decree No. 5 in 2006 regarding national energy policies to develop substitute energy for such fuel. Those policies put emphasize on renewable energy resources as alternative to oil (fossil) fuel. Energy consumption tends to increase along with economy rise and population growth. The limited stocks of oil/fossil fuel have necessitated a conservation of energy and concurrently development of the so-called green energies or non-fossil fuels derived from nature and renewable sources. Those energies if properly managed will be inexhaustible. Related with such, the President of Indonesia’s Republic (Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono) issued a presidential decree No.1 in 2006 about the supply and uses of renewable biomass fuel (i.e. bi fuel) as one of the non-fossil energy sources. The President has also instructed central and regional authorities to take steps in accelerating the supply and uses of bio fuel. In relevant, this paper elaborates about green energies with their development potencies, derived from among others biomass, biofuels, biodiesel, and wastes through the enactment-concept of garbage to energy.

Keywords: fossil-fuel energy, green energy, biomass-based energy sources, renewable
and inexhaustible, alternatives, policies
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*) Both consecutively Senior Researcher at the Center for Forest Products Research and Development, Jln. Gn. Batu No. 5, P.O.Box 182, Bogor 16001, INDONESIA

I. INTRODUCTION

Currently, the paradigm and perception about energy supply must change the course. Initially, hunting energy from the available stocks changes to the attempt of energy-farming patterns with the product as biomass-based fuels or the so-called biofuels. In other words, the entrepreneurs should change from fossil fuels to biofuels. Energy derived from fossil fuels belongs to non-renewable resources, and often suffers from environmental safety. Therefore, these fossil fuels are known as prompting air pollution. Meanwhile, the use of green energies (biofuel) reveals the most appropriate choice by considering the supporting area as well as climate, and that most of Indonesia’s population rely on agriculture, crops estate, and forestry. Development of green energy, besides dealing with energy diversification, also aims to diversify attempts in farming, agroindustries, revenue increase of farmers, and carbon (CO2) sequestration related with global-warming mitigation.

Indonesia’s current consumption of fossil-oil fuels reaches 1.3 million barrels per day, which falls short of its production, i.e. 1.0 million barrels per day, thereby inflicting a deficit that should be met through import. According to the data of Energy and Mining Resources (Anonim, 2006), the oil-reserves still left and available in Indonesia currently amount to 9 million barrels. If those reserves are consumed continuously and no new-oil-resources found, then Indonesia’s oil reserves could only last for the next two decades. This implies that in 8-10 years to come Indonesia will exhaust its oil resources. As an example, Indonesia’s oil production which reached its peak in 1977, i.e. 1.7 million barrels per day, continued the decline steadily to 1.125 million barrels per day in 2004. In another side, the domestic oil consumption tends to increase steadily, which in 2000 reached 0.95 million barrels per day then in 2003 rose up to 1.05 million barrels per day, and in 2004 decreased slightly to 1.04 million barrels per day. Shortly, Indonesia will suffer a deficit of energy which in volume increases alarmingly. The increase in oil/fossil fuel price that occurred recently will seem to recur again in the moment to come. This is also triggered by the ever declining worldwide oil-reserves. Such decline can bring about impact on the world’s oil prices, which directly or indirectly can prompt the increase of domestic oil prices.

Actually, Indonesia has potentially abundant stocks of renewable energy resources. Indonesia’s government (i.e. the Ministry of Energy and Mining Resources or MEMR) has encouraged to utilize and develop such renewable energy resources through various policies enacted in laws, state regulations, and MEMR’s decisions. Unfortunately those policies so far still can not be implemented to encourage investor in the renewable energy endeavors.

Renewable energy resources, often called as alternative energies such as water (hydro-, mini/micro hydro-power), geothermal, biomass (organic wastes), solar energy (sun), and wind power. Hydropower has been extensively used for electric generation, i.e. 14.2% (from the potential of 487.75 MW); meanwhile, utilization of other renewable energy resources is still comparatively low. Brief details about utilization of various renewable energies are as follows: hydropower, 5.1% of its potency equivalent to 75.67 GW electricity; geothermal, 4.1% of its 19.66 GW potency; biomass, 0.6% of its 49.81 GW potency; and solar as well as wind power still below a thousandth of each potencies. The low intensity in the use of renewable energy forms is really ironic, remembering that nowadays the harnessing-technologies for such have been quite advanced (for example, technology in electric generation from renewable energy sources).

Several kinds of renewable energy sources depends on time and situation (solar, wind, or water/hydro), thereby arousing difficulties in their continual use. In another matter, biomass reveals renewable energy sources with their abundant potency, and they seem inexhaustible. The potential biomass from agriculture, crops estate, and forestry in records is generated as production wastes, e.g. rice, corns, cassava, sugar-cane bagasse, coconut, oil-palm, and residues of forest harvesting, wastes of wood processing, etc. As an example, palm-oil processing generates biomass wastes amounting to 1,075 m3 per year, when converted to energy, equivalent to 516,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gases, or 666, 5 million liters of kerosene, or 5,0525 MW of electricity.
Related with the biomass-waste potency, research and development activities should strive hard for a significant breakthrough that renders renewable energy forms usable significantly. The breakthrough as such should incorporate aspects, e.g. research policies and development of utilization technologies easily applicable and turning out cheap energy.

II. POTENCY OF NON-FOSSIL ENERGY (GREEN ENERGY) IN INDONESIA

Several opinions states that green energy is assumed as clean energy that does not pollute or add pollutants to atmosphere. Such energy can be derived from water, hydrothermal, geothermal, hydropower, wind, solar, wastes, biomass, biofuel, and sea wave. In the future, green energy should be incorporated in the main policies on development and uses of energy. Therefore, those renewable energies should be chiefly emphasized, but not as alternatives.

In attempts to reduce dependency on oil/fossil fuels, Indonesia’s government has issued presidential policies no 5 in 2006 to develop alternative energies as substitute for fossil-oil fuels. Those policies put emphasize on renewable energy resources due to the ever-limited oil fuels along with the steady increase in economy and population growth. This has enforced all the related entrepreneurs to develop non-fossil fuels or the-so-called green energies derived from nature and renewable. Those renewable fuels, if properly managed, will be inexhaustible. In relevant, the President of Indonesia Republic has enacted a decree No. 1 in 2006 to seek as well as develop alternative energies, and thoroughly urged the related officials and government institutions to take significant steps in the accelerated procurement and uses of renewable energy resources, e.g. biomass-derived fuels or biofuels.

Uses of renewable energies in Indonesia can fall into three categories. The first category refers to the energies which have been developed commercially, such as biomass, geothermal, and hydropower. The second includes the energies which have been developed but still in limited scale or operation, such as solar and wind power. After all, the third pertains to the energies which have been developed as well but still in research stage, such as high and low tides of the sea.

III. BIOMASS ENERGY

This energy is actually stored in organic matters of various sorts or the so-called biomass. These biomass resources can come from crops estate, agriculture, forestry, cattle as well as poultry manures, or even urban garbage. These biomass matters are able to produce heat, serving as fuels and generating electricity. Technologies of biomass uses into energy which have been developed consist of direct burning (e.g. briquetted charcoal from wood wastes, coconut shells, oil-palm empty fruit bunches, rice husk, and other agriculture residues); and biomass conversion into fuels. Results of the latter can form as biomass gases, bio alcohol (ethanol), bio diesel, and liquefied fuel.

According to Manurung (2007), each year about 160 million tons of biomass wastes are generated from agriculture sector, and the corresponding 80 million tons from forestry sector, in all totaling 240 million tons. Those wastes, for example, cover sugarcane bagasse, rice husk, oil-palm empty fruit bunches, and many other various sorts of wastes. In fact, those 240 million tons of biomass wastes, if converted into energy, could generate heat equivalent theoretically to 60 tons of fossil-oil fuels. In the crops estate sectors such as tea industries, the biomass wastes they generate reach 5.8 million tons per year, equivalent to 2.32 million tons of fossil-oil fuels. Meanwhile, approximately 17.7 million tons of biomass wastes are released from rice mills, equivalent to 7.07 million tons of fossil-oil fuels. These figures still do not include biomass wastes generated from forestry sector. Therefore, if technologies of biomass conversion into energy are attentively and thoroughly developed, it can be calculated how much oil fuels can be saved or conserved. As an example, the drying of tea leaves inflicts an expenses of Rp. 177 thousand million, when using exclusively oil fuels (Manurung, 2007).

On the whole, Indonesia’s biomass potency that can be used for energy substitute can theoretically reach 49.81 GW of electricity equivalent. Unfortunately, from that potency, only about 0.3 GW is actually acquired for energy conversion (Sumaryono, 2007). From the wastes of consecutively agriculture, crops estate, and forestry as well as wood-based industries, the biomass that can be effectively acquired amounts to 120 million tons. Therefore, when such biomass will have been utilized by 2010, it will bring about positive impacts on attempts of substituting for oil fuels that reach 10%, and hence also economy improvement on rural area. Recently, despite still being limited, biomass has been used in particular regions in Indonesia, such Banjarmasin, Sumatera, and West Nusa Tenggara, particularly for electric generation. Such electricity is turned out through the biomass burning inside the heating kiln.

-The Role of the State-Owned Forest Enterprise on Development of Wood Biomass Energi

In order to help minimizing the impact of increase in oil-fuel price on community lives, Perum Perhutani (State-Owned Forest Enterprise) where its operational activities are surrounded by community villages (mostly poor villages), has implemented anticipation by securing its forest resources. It has become the habit of the community surrounding the forest to use wood as source of energy (firewood) for cooking and other household needs, and the usual and easiest way for them to obtain wood by taking it from the forest. Previously not too long ago, woods were still of low values. Nowadays, however, with the sky-rocketing price of oil fuels and scarcity of kerosene, the community begins to feel the importance of forest to support their lives in providing energy. Early in 2008, the State-Owned Forest Enterprise has contributed free to the community as much as 21 million ton biomass wastes as fuels, which consisted of those generating from forest-felling as well as thinning activities and sprouts/shoots (3,188,150.7 tons); and factory wastes (17,885,000 tons). The community got biomass wastes that covered tree branches and twigs at the time of forest-tree felling and sprouting-results. The wood wastes resulting from the first thinning were even distributed to the community. Stumps that left after forest-stand felling are not only useful as firewood but also consumed by community-owned handcraft industries. Enormous amount of biomass wastes was obtained from industry sectors, i.e. cayeput-leaves processing and sawmills. As much as 127,896 tons of biomass wastes were reserved for the State-Owned Forest Enterprise that present a potency utilized by community, which covered those of wood processing industry, rosin factories, cayeput oil distillation, seedlack preparation, and ylang-ylang (Anonim, 2008).

In the following are described in brief several kinds of bio-material-based energies such as bioetanol, biodiesel, buiogas, and waste-converted energies or energy from garbage. The details are forthcoming

A. Bioethanol Energy

Bioethanol energy can be used as partial substitute or overall substitute for that of oil fuels. Bioethanol can be produced from the plant biomass that has high hydrocarbon contents. The advantage of using bioethanol as fuel is it affords higher octane value than gasoline (fossil fuel) thereby neglecting the additive usage (e.g. methyl tertiary butyl ether and ethyl lead, as both commonly used in gasoline) and hence enhancing the machine performance. Another advantage is its low-gas emissions rendering it more environmentally friendly, compared to those of gasoline-run engine. Bioethanol seems worth potentially to be developed in Indonesia by considering the current vast areas of ethanol-producing biomass-plants (Anonim, 2005a; Anonim, 2005b), e.g. cassavas (1,400,000 ha), sweet potatoes (215,000 ha), corns (3,100,000 ha), sago (850,000 ha), and sugarcanes (350,000 ha).

Bioethanol presents an ethanol or alcoholic substances resulting from the fermentation on biomass matters. Bioethanol can be used as fuel added to gasoline in particular proportion forming the mixture with the so-called gasohol, which further is used to run the combustion engine. Gasohol from bioethanol-gasoline mixture with 10%:90% proportion is known as the so-called Gasohol Be-10. This gasohol, when used to run the combustion engine, affords to give off minimum emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon gases, compared to those of mere gasoline. Besides, it also affords high octane value and more environmentally friendly impacts. Therefore, the development of bioethanol can save on the country expenses brought about by gasoline import. In addition, such development can enhance agri-business sector and employment opportunity as well as added value of biomass matters (Manurung, 2007).

Development of bioethanol actually has been done extensively in Indonesia. About 23 years ago, before the State Oil Enterprise (PT Pertamina) sold biosolar B-5 and biopremium E-5, attempts to develop the so-called biomass-based energy had been developed in Indonesia. In accordance with the General Policies on Energy Aspects (GPEA) which has been implemented since 1981, those policies focused on 4 main items, i.e. intensification, diversification, conservation, and indexation. However, in the following years, the fourth item in the policies was abolished, while the other three remained in effect with the shifting based on priority values. One of the realizations in diversification item the pioneering of research and development (R & D) one form of biomass-based energy, i.e. bioethanol. In 1983, R & D on bioethanol was initiated by Research Institute for Starch Technology (RIST) situated at Sulusuhan Village, Terbanggi Besar District, Lampung Province. At that moment, cassava production in transmigration areas was abundant further processed into starch product or the so-called tapioca flour. Therefore, the RSIT conducted R & D on cassava-based bioethanol. The R & D went on intensively and extensively. After all, the bioethanol project was completely tried, tested, and evaluated in cooperation with a vehicle manufacturer.

In another aspect, one of the biomass-based or green energy source which is enormously potential and will be developed in Indonesia cam from a particular plant species, i.e. nyamplung (Callophylum inophylum). Energy stored in that plant can provide biofuel which appears to be inexhaustible so long as soil, water, and sun ray are available. The planting of this species is being performed by the Forestry District of South Kedu in Central Java. These plants can also function to protect the cost from sea abrasion in that are planted off the cost as the supplement for those of ring III. For the essential information regarding abrasion hindrance (obstacle), mangrove plant species acts as ring I, while ring II and III are assigned to consecutively ketapang laut (Casuaria equisetifolia) and nyamplung species, as described before (Witjahjono, 2008). Nyamplung grows well on the coastal regions and fruit throughout the year. The first fruiting of nyamplung trees occurs at their seven years old with production of 25-50 kg of wet seeds per tree. Nyamplung trees at 28 years can reach 20 m in height and range 20-35 cm in diameter. The planting of nyamplung trees at Forestry District of South Kedu (Central Java) was carried out on 86.9 ha area, with the number of trees reaching 10,814 stands and extending along the coastal region of Kedu Regency named Ketawang coast. Meanwhile, the Head of Analysis Field and Information Presentation at the Ministry of Forestry, i.e. Mr. Bintoro, stated that about 350 ha area along the coast at the south of Cilacap Regency has been reserved for forest areas that consisted of nyamlung, cemara laut (Terminalia catapa), and ketapang laut tree species. The cultivation of nyamplung trees nowadays has become the most prime species due to the capability of producing the so-called biofuel from their dry seeds as alternative biomass-based fuel. Therefore, the Ministry of Forestry (MOF) has asked for the community participation in managing the forest potency. For these reasons, the MOF has provided 3,000 myamplung seeds allocated for their planting on 3,000 ha area. Meanwhile, for Cilacap Regency, the MOF has allocated 148,222 tree stands of nyamplung. To infer, so long as there is a thorough intent on planting, cultivating, and processing of nyanplung species into useful products like biofuel, this speciec can become the most prime as alternative energy source.

B. Biodiesel energy

Biodiesel can function as alternative energy which is environmentally friendly, because it is derived from vegetation oil, animal-based oil, algae, or even used-frying oil (Anomim, 2008). Biodiesel can be used to generate power in the combustion engine of vehicles. However, if biodiesel is produced through large-scale operation, this can put burden on environments because the monocultur cultivation using single plant (vegetation) species can area productivity and impair eco-system balance. In addition, the drawback in the use of biodiesel or pure bioethanol requires modification on combustion engines that commonly consume fossil fuels. This is because biodiesel or ethanol can react with rubber or plastic portions in the engine. However, on the other consideration, it is the renewability characteristics of biomass-based fuels (biodiesel, bioethaboll etc) that the development of such fuels get thorough and priority emphasizes.

In relation, the plan of biodiesel development in Indonesia can signify one action program of the Common Declaration over National Entrepreneurs to deal with Poverty and Fossil-fuel Crisis through rehabilitation and reforestation on 10 million critical land areas using energy-generating plants. The declaration consider particular aspects: (1) the ever-increasing number of poverty (36.1 millions of population) that consist of those residing in towns (11.5 millions and those in villages (24.6 millions): (2) the mounting expanses of critical land areas (21.9 million ha) that consist of regular critical areas (15.3 million ha) and potentially-severe critical areas (6.6 million m3); (3) government subsidy on fossil fuels that reach 60 million kiloliters that consist of premium gasoline (20 million kiloliters), solar fuel (22 million kiloliters), kerosene (12 million kiloliters), and fuel oils (6 million kiloliters).

In total, fossil fuels (i.e. solar, kerosene, and fuel oil) that can be substituted by biodiesel. Further, if such biodiesel is produced from the seeds of fence-castor (Jatropa curcas L) plants and rough approximation is used (1 ha of the plants equivalent to 3 tons of seeds, and 1 ton of seeds able to produce 0.33 tons of biodiesel fuel), this will require 40 ha area of those plants. Related with such, the President Decree No. 5 in 2006 stated that 20 years afterwards (2025), 5% of the total demand in solar (diesel) fuels should be met from biodiesel. Further, under the estimation that the average increase in solar consumption is 6% per year, then the solar demand in 2025 will reach 128.3 million kiloliters. Therefore, in order to satisfy that President Decree, 5% of that figure that is 5% multiplied with 128.3 million kiloliters will be equal to 6.41 million kiloliters of biodiesel. Hence, such 6.41 million kiloliters of biodiesel, if met by that of fence-castor seeds, will require 641 million ha area of fence-castor plants in 20 years or 321,000 ha per year.

According to Mr. Imanuel Sutarto, the President Director of the Company named PT Eterindo, it is approximated that solar consumption in Indonesia reaches 44 million kiloliters per year. Further, the data from the Directorate General of Energy and Mine Resources stated that the industries consume 6 million kiloliters of solar per year. Further, if those industries use 20% of that figure from biodiesel, then this will require 1.2 million kiloliters of biodiesel per year. Still further, the State Electricity Company (PT PLN) consumes about 12 million kiloliters of solar per year, then if they use 20% from biodiesel, this will be equal to 2.4 million kiloliters of biodiesel per year. Meanwhile, the transportation sector consumes roughly 26 million kiloliters of solar per year, then if 2% of the figure is substituted by biodiesel, this will be equal to 520,000 kiloliters of biodiesel per year. Entirely, the total national demand of biodiesel can reach 4,120,000 kiloliters per year. Concurrently, the national capability of biodiesel production in 2006 just achieved 110,000 kiloliters per year. In 2007, the capacity increased to 200,000 kiloliters of biodiesel per year. Meanwhile, other biodiesel manufacturers would start production in 2007. In this way, the overall capacity can reach 400,000 kiloliters of biodiesel per year. It is also necessary to take thorough attention the demand of biodiesel export is quite significant reaching million tons per year, particularly to Singapore, Japan, and European countries. About biodiesel export, there are no particular marketing systems (free) so long as it follows the quality and price requirements. Meanwhile, for local biodiesel-use, it still waits for the marketing regulation from the government. Very soon, the government will release the marketing regulation of biodiesel in order to make clear its selling and distribution system to the community.

C. Biogas energy

One form of the alternative energy sources is biogas. This gas is derived from various organic wastes such as biomass garbages, human wastes, and animal (poultry and cattle) manure through anaerobic digestion (fermentation process), and the resulting gases or the so-called biogas contain potential amount of energy. This process can offer favorable chance to provide alternative energy, and therefore reduce the impact of using fossil fuels (Pambudi, 2008). Biogas entails the mixture of gases released from biomass (organic) matters through anaerobic digestion assisted by organisms (e.g. bacteria). In warm and wet condition without oxygen (or with limited oxygen), the bacteria will digest (degrade) organic matters producing biogas which mainly mainly contain flammable methane gases. The approximate composition biogas is 51-70% of methane (CH4) gas, 26-45% of carbon dioxide (CO2), 0.1% of carbon monoxide (CO), 0.5-3% of nitrogen (N2), 0.1% of oxygen (O2), and trace amount of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The calorific value of biogas is about 8,900 kilocal per m3. The development of anaerobic digestion has been successfully employed at several applications. This process is able to convert organic wastes (e.g. industrial wastes, agriculture wastes, poultry as well as cattle manures, and municipal solid wastes or MSW) which are potentially abundant, while other attempts to utilize them into added-value products rather than biogas seem useless. In relation, the Center for Forest Products Research and Development (under the Forestry Research and Development Agency, Ministry of Forestry) in Bogor, Indonesia has pioneered the development of biogas using MSW as feed stock. As such, the process employed the so-called solid state fermentation (SST) techniques, and these activities have reached pilot-plant scale operation with the input of 1 ton feedstock per day.

D. Energy from Garbage

In Indonesia, the non-degradable organic wastes (e.g. plastics) already mixed with the biodegradable organic wastes or garbage have become serious constraints in converting those wastes into electricity energy, thereby decelerating anaerobic digestion, because the plastic wastes are difficult to degrade by organisms. Plastic contaminants also bring about difficulty in pyrolisis, gasification, and incineration, since the disintegrating temperatures for plastics are different from those of biodegradable organic materials. The improper use of operational temperatures can inflict dangerous pollutions on environments. In another case, dry organic wastes mixed with wet organic wastes can in all lower the calorific values of those wastes. It is approximated that the calorific value of Indonesia’s garbage (wastes) can only reach 1,000-2,000 to 3,000-4,000 kilocal per kg, which is much lower than that of high-value biomass (15-20 MJ per kg). According to the estimate, the price electricity energy generated from garbage sold the State Electricity Company can reach Rp. (Indonesia’s currency) 400 per KWh. Such generation technology employed in Indonesia are adopted from China. In 1998, China (i.e. Shanghai Pudong City Heat Energy) managed to electric-generator station using the energy from garbage with the capacity of 35-40 MWh. By employing the investment of 670 million Yuan (China’s currency), they can convert 1,100-1,200 tons of garbage per day. With this rough calculation, this implies that input garbage of 1 ton per day can generate electricity energy of 31.8 KWh with investment cost of US $ 2.5 million (Rp. 24 thousand million) per MWh or US $ 79,000 per ton of garbage. In this way, garbage (wastes) can become one of the valuable assets for future business. In addition to technology, economy aspects and the role of community are required to create clean urban/villages.

In Indonesia, the State Electricity Company in cooperation with the regional authority of Bandung Regency has erected garbage-based electric generator station, and this become the first pilot project in Indonesia where garbage is used as raw material or feed stock (Widodo, 2007). The erection of that electric station close the final garbage-dumping site at Babakan, Ciparay District (Bandung Regency) revealed the concerns of the State Electricity Company in the handling of garbage. Further, the garbage-based electricity station also signified the ingenuity results of Bandung Technology Institute (BTI) in implementing the garbage conversion into energy source through the use of the so-called waste-to-energy (WTE) concept. According to the Head of the Center for Industrial Engineering at BTI, i.e. Dr. Ir. Ari Darmawan Pasek, with the conditions of the final garbage-dumping site at Babakan to handle 200 tons of garbage per day, then the garbage-based electricity station affords to generate electricity of 300-500 KW which is approximately adequate to provide electricity for about 500 houses and for daily operation activities of the electricity station itself. Further, it is stated that the existing garbage in Bandung affords the calorific value of 1,500-2,500 kilocal per kg with 25% efficiency in electricity conversion. The electricity energy generated from the garbage can reach 18-30 KW per day. Another advantage acquired from the garbage conversion is that it can mitigate greenhouse gas emission as much as 120,000 tons of CO2 per year and reduce residues from garbage processing about 2-3%.

IV. STATE PROGRAM TO ACHIEVE 2,000 ENERGY-SUFFICIENT VILLAGES

Energy-sufficient villages imply the villages that provide energy and use it for themselves. Therefore, this will afford job opportunity, reduce poverty, and offer productive activities. Energy-sufficient villages can also signify a model in renewable-energy uses. Those comprise two kinds energy sources, i.e. the villages which develop energy from non-biomass sources, such as micro hydropower, solar energy, and biogas; and the villages that use biomass-based energy, e.g. biofuel. The Minister of Energy and Mining Resources (EMR) stated that the Indonesia’s government under the President Sosilo Bambang Yudoyone’s rule (2004-2009) targets to achieve 2,000 energy-sufficient villages (Yusdiantoro, 2007). Those attempts are based on the President speech in the limited meeting-assembly that the number of energy-sufficient villages be increased from 140 in 2007 to 200 villages in 2008, and ultimately to 2,000 villages in 2009. For latest case, the details are 1,000 villages should develop non-biomass energy sources, while the 1,000 use biomass-based energy sources. The EMR Minister also emphasized that the energy-sufficient villages do not imply as those that lag behind; instead, the villages expectedly can be self-sufficient in energy needs and sell the energy excess to other parties. The intent of developing energy-sufficient villages is among others reducing poverty level and concurrently providing job opportunity as well as substituting for fossil-oil fuel.

As of this occasion, there are 100 energy-sufficient villages due to the efforts by EMR Ministry, Agriculture Ministry, Man Power and Transmigration Ministry, and the State Minister of Less-Developed Villages, State-Owned Enterprises, and Sea-Related Ministry. The accounts of those villages are 81 regencies that use non-biomass fuel energy and 40 energy-sufficient villages that develop biomass-based energy sources.

V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

Research and Development should strive for an effective breakthrough that render green and renewable energy sources significantly usable. Those breakthroughs should incorporate research policies, development and implementation of technology for renewable energy sources which are easily applicable and cheap in price. Biomass-based energy sources are different from those of fossil-oil fuel, e.g. renewable, not polluting environments, secured in continuity, and able to drive economy of the community. This situation renders the biomass-based energy sources quite relevant and urgently realized for their development. Consequently, the biomass-based energy sources deserve thorough attention and emphasizes.

In addition, the development of green energy from the renewable biomass-based sources which is immediately implemented can bring about many expectations for farmers as well as overcome the abundantly generated organic wastes through the zero-waste attempt. In this way, conversion of energy from biomass wastes can run well, and energy supply more secured as well as cheap in price. Therefore, consumption of fossil-oil fuel is effectively reduced, thereby mitigating emissions. Besides, strong motivation and enforcement by the government is urgently needed to realize the development of biomass-based energy sources. Conversely, without clear political supports, whatever development technology for such will run into difficulty. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the government vision regarding paradigm of technology development in Indonesia which is rich in natural resources and concurrently prediction on environment impacts.

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