Jakarta, June 24 – The government claims that bioenergy is a renewable energy that will serve as an energy transition solution. Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates Prabowo and Gibran Rakabuming stated that Indonesia will become the “world’s green energy king,” including through the use of wood biomass as a source of electricity.
Wood as a source of electricity is claimed to be a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels, therefore it will help to mitigate climate change. However, this claim was refuted by Trend Asia through its research “Emission Reduction Claims Battle.” Particularly concerning deforestation, it will incur a carbon debt that will take decades to repay. Trend Asia’s research found that the wood production process would result in a net emission of 26.48 million tons of carbon.
In another study, Trend Asia also sees the “Deforestation Threat of Energy Crops,” noting that up to 2.3 million hectares, or 33 times the size of Jakarta, would be needed to produce wood biomass. It is also claimed to boost the local economy by involving communities in the supply chain of its provision. Trend Asia critically examines the implementation and claims of biomass co-firing policies, including the actors involved in wood supply and profiting from biomass business for coal-fired power plants.
In the report “Energy Transition Profiteers,” Trend Asia found that the biomass supply chain is dominated by coal oligarchs and timber industry conglomerates. The report identified major groups which have been long involved in the timber business, such as the APP Sinarmas Group, Sampoerna Group, Salim Group, Medco, Barito Pacific Group, Jhonlin Group, and Wilmar.
Some of these groups, like Sinarmas and Wilmar, are also involved in other bioenergy businesses, such as biodiesel, and receive incentives from the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency. These conglomerates are not only involved in the allegedly renewable energy businesses but also in dirty energy businesses. Jhonlin Group and Barito Pacific Group have subsidiaries that supply coal. Meanwhile, Wilmar Group is involved in investing in the North Sumatra-2 coal-fired power plant.
“Business operators involved in the wood energy business are longtime powerful players in the timber industry. These businesses have benefited from the implementation of co-firing programs because they have succeeded in securing new business types, closing out other parties’ involvement, especially communities, and ensuring incentives from the government. We also found that many of these corporations have social and environmental issues, including land grabbing from indigenous communities, conflicts with farmers, and operations in peatland areas. This not only disproves claims of community economics but also shows that the energy transition through wood biomass is merely a business. A business that will be dominated by the same oligarchy.” – Amalya Oktaviani, Biomass Program Manager, Trend Asia.
The names that emerged are those of oligarchs who have long dominated extractive businesses in Indonesia. This includes companies under the Medco Group owned by Arifin Panigoro, the Jhonlin Group owned by coal tycoon Samsudin Andi Arsyad, also known as Haji Isam, the Korindo Group owned by Bob Hasan, and the giant paper company Sinarmas Group.
Many of these companies have a poor track record. PT Selaras Inti Semesta (PT SIS), linked to the Medco Group, for example, has faced strong protests from indigenous communities due to displacement and forest destruction in its 169,400 hectare concession in Merauke, Papua. PT Sadhana Arifnusa has also been involved in conflicts and has pushed for the criminalization of farmer groups, resulting in one death.
“The current approach to energy transition through energy plantation forest development is purely business-driven. It should not be associated with emission reduction efforts or efforts to enhance the national energy mix. This biomass energy business is driving a new wave of deforestation in Indonesia. It even includes planned deforestation of 420 thousand hectares of natural forest within 31 HTE concessions,” said Anggi Putra Prayoga, Campaign and Policy Intervention Manager, Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI).
Despite being promoted as a community economic solution, the biomass wood industry is ultimately dominated by old oligarchic conglomerates, which have been fattened through the exploitation of both fossil energy and Indonesia’s forestry.
Community involvement is limited to crumbs: farmers are involved as cheap plantation labor, while micro, small, and medium enterprises are only involved in supplying waste, such as wood dust, at low prices. Even in the supply chain, it is dominated by tycoons and businesses affiliated with coal-fired power plants.
Biomass development does not genuinely support clean energy transition or community economics. It is a cheap solution to boost renewable energy mix with questionable plays on carbon accounting. It takes advantage of infrastructure and forest exploitation systems familiar to Indonesian oligarchs. It is also closely tied to fossil energy interests, especially coal, as a greenwashing cosmetic effort for coal-fired power plants to portray themselves as clean energy and postpone retirement. Biomass is a false solution to energy transition that distracts Indonesia from its critical battle against climate change, and it must be stopped.
Firman Imaduddin – Juru Kampanye Media Trend Asia(081386440901)
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Research related to threats to energy plantation forests can be downloaded at the following link: Research on threats to research plantation forests
Videos about bioenergy presentations can be viewed and downloaded at the following link: Presentation videos
The Energy Transition Profit Insurer Book can be downloaded at the link below:
The complete press release document can be downloaded at the link below: