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Jakarta (ANTARA
News) - Indonesia may be the first country in
the world to commercially use biofuel produced from
jatropha, a hardy drought-resistant shrub that
produces an oil convertible into fuel, a Dutch
expert said on Thursday.
The plant, which is believed to originate from South
America, already grows wild in parts of Indonesia.
More than than 25 million hectares (62 million
acres) of land, an area bigger than the United
Kingdom, could be suitable for jatropha in Indonesia,
said Professor H.J. Heeres, who heads a programme
researching the field at the University of
Groningen. "My feeling is at the moment Indonesia
could be the first in the world to introduce
jatropha (commercially)," said Heeres. He
highlighted the potential in Indonesia to use
biofuel produced from jatropha to power small
generators. In a bid to drum up interest in the area
and prove the biofuel's potential, National
Geographic Indonesia magazine earlier this year
sponsored an 8-day expedition using jatropha oil to
power vehicles driving across the sprawling country.
Heeres, whose research programme is twinned with one
at Indonesia's Bandung Institute of Technology, said
the performance of the car using pure jatropha was
comparable to regular diesel, using only about 10
percent more fuel. The chemical engineer also noted
encouraging sounds from the Indonesian government in
the area. Indonesia, Asia Pacific's only OPEC member,
is keen to cut a hefty oil subsidy bill inflated by
high global prices by encouraging alternative
sources of energy.
"Yes, the government is very, very supportive, at
least in words," he told Reuters. Effendi Sirait,
the Indonesian industry ministry's official in
charge of biofuel development, said last month that
the government planned to produce just over 15,000
tonnes of biofuels from jatropha by the end of 2007.
While the government focuses on jatropha as a
feedstock, the bulk of Indonesia's biofuel
production will come from palm oil-based biodiesel
produced by the private sector. Heeres said he felt
that jatropha could compete with alternative green
fuels such as palm oil, despite some concerns aired
by other experts questioning whether its yields were
high enough to make it economic. "We have the
feeling it will be competitive to palm oil." The
Dutchman said another advantage of jatropha was that
it let more light through compared with a dense palm
oil canopy so that other crops such as tomatoes
could be grown together. Jatropha, a shrub which
normally grows 3-5 metres (10-16 ft) was suitable
for many areas of Indonesia, including Kalimantan,
Sumatra, as well as Java and Papua, he said. It can
also be grown on land damaged by fire and over
cultivation. Plant nurseries for jatropha, which is
non-edible although has traditionally had medical
uses, were being developed in Kupang on west Timor
island and in western Jakarta, he said. Local
companies with commercial plans in this area include
Bio-chem Indonesia and PT Trakindo Utama. (*) |
