Indonesia – Alternative energy: Now or never!

In his speech during the Society of Petroleum Engineers Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition in October, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono put the emphasis on the government’s policy of developing renewable energy to replace oil and gas.

The President even implicitly told hundreds of participants at the conference, mostly representing oil and gas companies, that it was about time for them to get out of the industry as the government’s policy to prioritize the development of renewable energy would make the oil and gas sector less important.
It might have upset them, but with the persistent increase in oil prices and rising environmental concerns on the use of fossil fuels, the President’s remarks appeared to be quite apropos.

It is widely believed that the world is heading for an energy crisis if people continue to rely on conventional fuels.

Aside from energy crisis, the environmentalist push for cleaner energy also leaves governments around the world with no other option but to gradually decrease the utilization of fossil-based fuels, which have been blamed for causing global warming.

The surge in oil prices, which almost reached US$100 over the past few months, has also made the shift from fossil-based fuels to alternative energy more attractive, given the severe impact of higher fuel prices on the global economy.

Therefore, the world is racing to develop alternative energy, whether derived from hydrocarbon resources or renewable resources, in the hope of overcoming the energy crisis and environmental challenges, and also to help ease demand for oil and eventually lower the price of oil.

And Indonesia does not want to be left behind in this global movement.

Blessed with vast natural resources, the country has many options to be choose from, such as biofuel and geothermal energy, and even wind and solar power.

Aware of the potential, the President issued a decree on National Energy Policy in 2006 setting out guidelines for the development of alternative energy.

The new policy endorses the reduction of oil’s share of the national energy mix from 52 percent currently to about 20 percent by 2025 through increasing the share of gas and renewable energy along the way.

Jakarta Post