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HoLLanD IN INDONESIA<br />
Indonesia Domestic Biogas Programme<br />
By: koEn ELscHot, nEtHErLanDs EMBassy<br />
Over 70<br />
million<br />
people in<br />
Indonesia<br />
do not have<br />
access to electricity, even<br />
more are lacking access<br />
to clean and safe cooking<br />
fuel. To meet their daily<br />
energy needs, they rely<br />
on traditional sources<br />
such as wood, agricultural<br />
waste, dried dung or<br />
charcoal. The collection<br />
of such traditional fuels<br />
and charcoal production<br />
gradually exhausts natural<br />
resources and damages<br />
the environment.<br />
The Netherlands has therefore<br />
started a programme to<br />
give people in rural areas in<br />
Indonesia access to energy<br />
in the form of biogas. The<br />
programme is implemented<br />
by the Dutch NGO HIVOS,<br />
subsidized by the Embassy<br />
of the Netherlands and<br />
supported by the Dutch<br />
companies Frisian Flag and<br />
Rabobank. These Dutch<br />
partners closely cooperate<br />
with Indonesian NGOs, dairy<br />
cooperatives, and the Ministry<br />
of Energy and Mineral<br />
Resources.<br />
Why biogas?<br />
By using biogas, many<br />
advantages arise. Biogas<br />
provides a sustainable energy<br />
solution for households<br />
with livestock to reduce<br />
dependence on firewood and<br />
expensive fossil fuels. Biogas<br />
is a gas that is produced by<br />
the biological breakdown of<br />
organic matter in the absence<br />
of oxygen. Domestic biogas<br />
plants convert animal dung<br />
and various other organic<br />
materials into combustible<br />
methane gas, also known as<br />
biogas. The gases methane,<br />
hydrogen and carbon<br />
monoxide can be combusted<br />
with oxygen. This energy<br />
release allows biogas to be<br />
used as fuel. Biogas can be<br />
used as a low-cost fuel in<br />
any country for any heating<br />
purpose, from simple gas<br />
stoves for cooking to lamps<br />
for lighting, especially in<br />
remote rural areas where<br />
reliable electrification does<br />
not exist. The slurry left<br />
over from this process is<br />
easily collected and can be<br />
used as organic fertiliser to<br />
improve crop yields. The CO2<br />
produced is equivalent to<br />
the amount of CO2 captured<br />
when the biomass was created.<br />
Biogas is therefore a CO2<br />
neutral source of energy<br />
or also called a renewable<br />
energy because the fuel is<br />
produced from renewable<br />
resources. It is therefore very<br />
environmentally friendly.<br />
Biogas plant: how does it<br />
work?<br />
- Organic waste, like animal<br />
manure and other organic<br />
material, is put into a sealed<br />
tank called a digester where<br />
it will be heated and agitated.<br />
In the absence of oxygen<br />
anaerobic bacteria consume<br />
the organic matter to multiply<br />
and produce biogas. The<br />
amount of biogas that can be<br />
extracted from organic waste<br />
depends on the waste itself<br />
and the design of the digester<br />
system.<br />
Benefits of biogas<br />
Domestic biogas plants<br />
convert livestock manure<br />
and various other organic<br />
materials into biogas and<br />
slurry, the fermented manure.<br />
On average, farmers with at<br />
least two cows can generate<br />
sufficient biogas to meet<br />
their daily basic cooking<br />
and lighting needs. The<br />
investment cost for a quality<br />
‘fixed dome’ biogas plant<br />
varies between Euro 400 to<br />
600, depending on the plant<br />
size, location of construction<br />
and country. Such plants<br />
have a life span of at least<br />
15 years, whilst operation<br />
is easy and maintenance<br />
inexpensive. For the user,<br />
biogas provides clean cooking<br />
energy, contributes to health<br />
improvement and reduces<br />
the time needed for biomass<br />
collection. The use of biogas<br />
brings along several benefits.<br />
The use of biogas saves time<br />
and reduces the workload<br />
especially for women on<br />
collecting traditional cooking<br />
fuels and the cooking process.<br />
The process is also free from<br />
smoke and soot which reduces<br />
respiratory and eye problems.<br />
Furthermore, the use of biogas<br />
reduces fossil fuel expenses<br />
for cooking and lighting.<br />
Examples of several other<br />
benefits: using crop residues<br />
for animal fodder instead of<br />
fuel, protecting forests, saving<br />
money, improving hygienic<br />
conditions, enabling local<br />
mechanization and electricity<br />
production, improving the<br />
rural standard of living<br />
and reducing air and water<br />
pollution. On top of that,<br />
converting cow manure into<br />
methane biogas instead of<br />
letting it decompose could<br />
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF NETHERLANDS EMBASSY.<br />
potentially help reduce the<br />
negative effects of global<br />
climate change.<br />
The Indonesia domestic<br />
biogas programme<br />
The Indonesia domestic biogas<br />
programme is managed and<br />
implemented by Hivos with<br />
technical assistance from SNV<br />
(Netherlands Development<br />
Organization), in cooperation<br />
with Raboank, Frisian Flag,<br />
Nestle and national and local<br />
stakeholders. The programme<br />
is funded by the Embassy<br />
supporting a Promising Generation<br />
By arnoLD van DEr ZanDEn<br />
The Netherlands<br />
supports<br />
Indonesia<br />
in its efforts<br />
to improve<br />
access and the quality<br />
of education in order to<br />
achieve the Millennium<br />
Development Goals<br />
(MDGs) and the<br />
Education for All (EFA)<br />
goals in Indonesia. During<br />
the past 5 years, the<br />
Netherlands has donated<br />
almost € 170 million to<br />
education programmes<br />
in Indonesia, in areas like<br />
early childhood education,<br />
teacher management,<br />
technical and vocational<br />
training, and higher<br />
education.<br />
The cooperation in higher<br />
education and science builds<br />
upon a long tradition of<br />
of the Kingdom of the<br />
Netherlands in <strong>Jakarta</strong>, for an<br />
amount of € 6.5 million from<br />
May 2009 until December<br />
2012, and was established in<br />
close cooperation with the<br />
Indonesian Ministry of Energy<br />
and Mineral Resources.<br />
The programme will create<br />
a market-based biogas sector,<br />
involving locally trained<br />
contractors and masons who<br />
are supported by vocational<br />
training institutions. The<br />
focus of the programme<br />
will be on clusters of high-<br />
cooperative relations between<br />
Netherlands and Indonesia.<br />
There are many institutional<br />
relations between Dutch and<br />
Indonesian universities.<br />
In 2011, a new cooperation<br />
programme called NICHE<br />
(Netherlands Initiative for<br />
Cooperation in Higher<br />
Education) will start. This<br />
density livestock areas and<br />
aiming at farmers with at<br />
least 2 or 3 stabled cows.<br />
The program started in May<br />
2009 and will initiate its<br />
activities in cooperation with<br />
local partners in at least 3<br />
provinces. The program aims<br />
to build ca. 8000 units of<br />
biogas installations, of which<br />
6000 units are located in Java,<br />
before the end of 2012.<br />
To reduce the cost-barrier,<br />
banks and micro-finance<br />
institutions will provide<br />
loans to the end-users. The<br />
programme will focus on<br />
institutional cooperation<br />
between Indonesian and<br />
Dutch knowledge institutes<br />
in areas of our bilateral<br />
cooperation, such as water<br />
management, judicial<br />
cooperation, agri-business,<br />
and marine transport. The<br />
Netherlands furthermore<br />
programme will offer an<br />
investment incentive of<br />
approximately 25%, which<br />
may be adjusted in a later<br />
stage of the programme. Endusers<br />
are protected against<br />
construction errors through<br />
a guarantee system. The role<br />
of rural development NGO’s,<br />
dairy cooperatives as well as<br />
governmental and private<br />
agricultural and livestock<br />
extension services are<br />
integrated in the programme,<br />
which will create new jobs and<br />
a new business sector.<br />
offers scholarships for Masters<br />
degree courses, short diploma<br />
courses and tailor-made<br />
training in the Netherlands<br />
to about 150-200 Indonesian<br />
mid-career professionals<br />
every year.<br />
The longstanding research<br />
cooperation between the<br />
Netherlands and Indonesia<br />
will be continued, amongst<br />
others through the Scientific<br />
Programme Indonesia<br />
Netherlands (SPIN), which<br />
was recently extended<br />
until 2016. This research<br />
programme involves world<br />
class researchers from both<br />
countries in areas of mutual<br />
interest.<br />
The exchange of<br />
knowledge and expertise<br />
in the field of education<br />
and research will remain<br />
an important aspect of the<br />
bilateral cooperation between<br />
the Netherlands and Indonesia<br />
in the coming years.<br />
52 | MAY 2011 www.nowjakarta.co.id www.nowjakarta.co.id MAY 2011 | 53<br />
PHOTO: COURTESY OF NETHERLANDS EMBASSY.
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