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Cellulosic Ethanol for Indonesian Farmers

Cellulosic Ethanol for Indonesian Farmers

Cellulosic Ethanol vs Bio-diesel

Like many other countries worldwide, Indonesia has ambitious goals for reducing reliance on fossil fuels. With a population just shy of 300 million people, the results of reducing petroleum consumption would be substantial.

Leaders within the country have expressed interest and intent to reduce reliance on fossil fuels; last year, the country’s president Joko Widodo announced that they are dedicating 700,000 hectares of land to cultivating renewable-based sugar ethanol.

However, small farmers have not seen the benefit of this transition toward bio-diesel production. Large palm oil firms dominate the industry, leaving small farmers without much hope in a transition that will benefit them as much as the environment.

According to Tenny Kristiana of the International Council on Clean Transportation, cellulosic ethanol could be the key ingredient to facilitate a boon in the lives of small farmers and Indonesia as a whole in the long run.

What could be done?

Cellulosic bio-ethanol is a bio-fuel that could be incredibly useful for Indonesian farmers due to its nature in the supply chain. The ethanol is created using traditionally considered waste products, like palm husks, trunks, and empty fruit bunches. These leftovers are either left to rot in the fields or sold overseas to countries like Japan, using the byproducts to fuel their own bio-ethanol industry.

Small farmers would benefit from selling these raw materials to bio-ethanol companies in Indonesia under long-term contracts guaranteeing the benefits for a long time. Expanding this domestic industry would also create jobs in transportation, manufacturing, and plantation work.

Indonesia specifically has large potential in developing its cellulosic ethanol industry, with estimates ranging up to 2 million kiloliters from palm residues alone. This could be the major push that Indonesia needs to support its domestic supply chain and create long-term stability in the job market that they need.

Read also about myECO, An Electric Saving Startup Based in Indonesia.

Being Done Elsewhere Too

This push towards sustainable development in cellulosic ethanol production is not without precedent. Brazil has one of the most successful bio-ethanol programs in the world, making up 50% of all fuel consumption in the gasoline market by April 2008.

This push would also reduce reliance on trade with foreign countries, as the fuel supply would be provided domestically, leaving Indonesia less vulnerable to changes outside its borders.

As the industry expands, they could also expand the inputs in ethanol production. Sugar cane bagasse, corn stalks, rice stems, and others could be used to create bioethanol.

While the long-term goal for many countries is to decarbonize and get off of ICEs entirely, in other countries, the costs outweigh the benefits. In the short to medium term, domestic bioethanol production could be necessary to help small farmers and the Indonesian society at large to buy into the green transition.

 

 


 

 

Source   Happy Eco News

British Petroleum Signals Imminent Hydrogen and Offshore Wind Plays

British Petroleum Signals Imminent Hydrogen and Offshore Wind Plays

BP is readying offshore wind bids during the next six months with heightened hydrogen activity also in the pipeline, the oil major’s CEO, Bernard Looney, said Tuesday.

During the company’s Q3 results call, Bernard Looney said BP would “probably” bid in offshore wind auctions that are scheduled in the next six months. The firm revealed a U.S.-focused partnership with Equinor in September, its first foray into offshore wind. Looney said bidding in auctions over the next six months would also be carried out in partnerships rather than independently.

In its home market in the U.K., there are active seabed leasing rounds. Denmark’s 800 MW to 1,000 MW Thor project closes to bids on March 15. The Netherlands’ Hollandse Kust (west) project, which could be as large as 1,400 MW, is scheduled to tender in Q2 2021.

BP is targeting 20 gigawatts of renewables by 2025 and 50 GW by 2030. It currently has around 10 GW completed or in the works and options on another 20 GW. Most of its early successes have come via its 50 percent stake in solar developer Lightsource BP.

Looney said the company is more likely to add megawatts via partnerships, like those with Lightsource BP and Equinor, and capacity auctions than through merger and acquisition activity.

“Partnerships will be…a key factor in this build-out, quite frankly, just like [they are] in the traditional oil and gas business. […] We partner all around the world today in oil and gas, and partnership will be no different as we look to build out our low-carbon position.”

“Over the coming six months, you’ll probably see us bid [in offshore auction rounds]. We’ll do that in partnerships; we consider that a sort of organic build-out,” he said, adding that there are no “material” merger and acquisition deals in the immediate future but that they should not be ruled out as a possibility.

French rival Total has made several huge deals to swell its own portfolio of renewables, including major solar deals in Spain and India and wind acquisitions in the U.K., Denmark and France. Three solar deals in Spain have netted the company more than 5 gigawatts of capacity.

 

Hydrogen action likely “in the coming months”

Like many of its peers, BP is eyeing the potential of hydrogen across its business. Looney again stated that hydrogen is unlikely to become a significant accounting line until 2030. Despite that, he trailed an uptick in hydrogen activity in the short term.

BP is backing both blue and green hydrogen. A gas power plant in northeast England with carbon capture and storage capabilities will be the foundation of a low-carbon industrial cluster with blue hydrogen fed to industrial customers.

“I think hydrogen is a core part of what we believe in for the future,” he told analysts, adding that the focus for BP will be heavy transport and industry, with the company looking at using hydrogen at its own refineries in Germany. It is also exploring a green hydrogen distribution trial with utility RWE.

“We are believers in hydrogen being a fuel of choice, and maybe the fuel of choice for heavy-duty transport over the medium term. We’re in the midst of exploring that more [and the] partnerships that we might have around the world. That’s work that’s ongoing at the moment,” said Looney.

“You should expect to see a bit more from us in the coming months and certainly as we head into 2021,” he added.

 

BP results beat expectations

BP’s Q3 results saw it post a modest, and surprise, profit of $100 million. Financial analysts had been expecting a similar-sized loss. The figure compares to losses of $6.7 billion in the second quarter of 2020 when oil and gas asset write-downs hit it hard.

The company also managed to dial its debt down by $500 million as it continues to improve its balance sheet and invest in low-carbon technology and services. To that end, the company halved its dividend earlier this year, the first dividend cut in a decade.

CFO Murray Auchincloss reiterated BP’s spending priorities, which start with the dividend, followed by reducing debt, low-carbon investment, oil and gas investment, and, finally, share buybacks, in that order.

 


 

By John Parnell

Source: Green Tech Media