The West Lombok Regency community in Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB), Indonesia, is set to begin construction of a biogas plant that can treat local agricultural waste from corn production.
The plant is slated to begin operating in 2025, and it is hoped it will replace imported LPG gas products, reported Newsbase.
The compressed biogas (CBG) plant is being built by PT Kaltimex Energy in collaboration with NTB Regional Owned Enterprises (BUMD) and PT Gerbang NTB Emas (GNE).
The facility will process agricultural waste, such as corn cobs, into raw materials for CBG production. This product can serve as a substitute for LPG and can be utilised by the hotel, restaurant, and catering industries.
The CBG plant will be capable of producing up to 10 tonnes of CBG per day and is expected to reduce emissions by 5,448 tons of CO2 per year, create job opportunities, enhance the utilisation of renewable energy and address waste-related issues.
Trois Dilisusendi – the coordinator of investment and bioenergy cooperation at the Directorate General of EBTKE, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources – said that, with the presence of the CBG plant, it is expected that NTB will become energy independent and support the utilisation of new renewable energy (EBT) in accelerating the carbon-zero emission target.
"NTB has significant biomass potential from agricultural waste, especially corn cobs, which reach 180,000 tonnes, and with technology, can be utilised to produce CBG. The central government continues to encourage biogas utilisation, including policy support for biogas procurement as an alternative fuel," said Trois, in an official statement on the plant on August 21, as reported by Republika.
The chairman of the Kaltimex Group, Krishan Kumar Ralhan, added that NTB was selected as the location for the CBG plant due to its strong commitment to the environment, with a target of zero emissions by 2050, zero-waste programmes, and industrialisation.
"We hope to support the Indonesian government's plans to reduce LPG imports in the future, considering the high LPG imports in Indonesia throughout 2022, reaching 6.7mn tonnes or equivalent to 82% of the total LPG volume used by the Indonesian people in the same year," Ralhan said.
NTB Governor Zulkieflimansyah said that the CBG plant represents two important issues: industrialisation and zero waste. Both are integral parts of achieving sustainable development goals.
Biogas plant to solve agricultural waste problem in West Lombok, Indonesia
