The government’s efforts to achieve energy self-sufficiency will not only focus on oil and gas, but also boost the development of renewable energy sources, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has said.
“We want to make Indonesia a country that is not only independent in oil and gas but also in the renewable energy sector,” he added in a statement released on Saturday.
The government is continuing to take various strategic steps to realize energy self-sufficiency, as envisaged by President Prabowo Subianto in the Asta Cita national development vision.
To that end, the government is continuing to encourage the development of renewable energy potential by targeting a significant increase in renewable energy capacity in the next few years.
This step is also in line with the government’s commitment to support the global energy transition toward cleaner and more environmentally friendly energy sources.
One of the efforts to support the energy transition in Indonesia is the mandatory 40 percent biodiesel (B40) program, which will be implemented in 2025, followed by the B50 program in 2026.
“On January 1, 2025, we will start to mandate the B40 program. Furthermore, we will push to the B50 program. If B50 is implemented, we will no longer need to import diesel,” Lahadalia informed.
“In line with President Prabowo’s (Subianto) direction, once our lifting has not reached the level needed to meet domestic consumption, we will have no choice but to push to B100, both diesel and gasoline,” he added.
In 2023, the use of biodiesel in the domestic market was recorded at 12.2 million kiloliters. The figure is targeted to increase to 12.5 million kiloliters in 2025. The mandatory biodiesel program also helped save up to US$7.9 billion or equivalent to Rp120.54 trillion in foreign exchange in 2023.Additionally, the processing of crude palm oil (CPO) into biodiesel produced added value of Rp15.82 trillion.—Antara
