Renewable Energy Access for All

Energy is a basic need and a key component of development. It is required in the daily lives of society as well as to support industrial performance. With a very large population, the need for energy is immense; Indonesia needs around 1.2 million kiloliters of fuel oil per day. Fuel oil, as one of the energy sources, is a commodity that is very sensitive both economically and politically in this country.

Indeed, fuel oil is not the only source of energy, especially for supporting the needs of the community. With various limitations in the supply of fuel oil, especially from fossil fuels, Indonesia must develop various alternative energy sources, one of which is bioenergy. Bioenergy can take various forms: firewood, charcoal (briquettes), ethanol, biogas. Bioenergy is one of the potentials that can be used to support the energy needs of the community.

The RELUNG Foundation, in collaboration with the Infront Foundation, has pioneered the development of biogas in the highlands of Merapi-Merbabu, Boyolali Regency, Central Java. This development is based on the high energy needs for processing cattle feed. The community provides feed in the form of a mixture of several ingredients that are boiled. The energy requirement for processing cattle feed is very high and is one of the causes of deforestation due to tree felling for firewood.

Biogas is developed as a solution to the energy needs of farmers and also as a solution to reduce deforestation and environmental pollution. Currently, hundreds of biogas units have been developed by the community through various schemes, including savings groups, grants, and self-built units.

Contributor:

Akhmad Arief Fahmi