The Role of Fixed-Dome and Floating Drum Biogas Digester for Energy Security in Indonesia

Abstract

Since 2010, technological innovations for small-medium biogas digester in Indonesia were mainly dominated by two designs; 1. fixed-dome digesters as a strong technology and proven in other developing countries, 2. the floating drum digester made of fiberglass as a suitable design for Indonesia’s earthquake-prone geography. This study analyzes the effectiveness of these two-biogas technologies for energy security in the country, from the perspectives of stakeholders of biogas programs. The study draws on semi-structured interviews, reviews of policy and program reports and documentation, as well as academic literature. Data were collected from key institutions and other stakeholders related to biogas programs, e.g. ministries, local governments, businesses, civil society, and academics. These institutions provided their review on the effectiveness of fixeddome and floating drum biogas digester. This study found that the technological effectiveness and reliability of both biogas technological design are relatively the same. Both technological designs are found to have problems a few weeks after the installation in some regions. These issues were caused by a lack of enforcement to the standard of technological construction. In terms of contribution to energy security, both designs contribute to the sustainability, availability, and affordability aspects of the energy system in the country. The diversity of technological design supports the resilience of the energy system. As a way forward, more detailed monitoring and evaluation are required to check damaged biodigesters and maintain a good quality of construction of both designs, particularly in rural areas.

The complexity of barriers to biogas digester dissemination in Indonesia: challenges for agriculture waste management

“…To support energy transition to renewable energy, biogas is seen as a clean source of energy that can be developed further to tackle environmental and health problems caused by LPG and firewood use [5]. In Indonesia, small-medium scale biogas with different technologies such as at the household level has been introduced formally since the 2000s [6]. However, there is fragmentation within the governance of the small-medium scale biogas programs in Indonesia that has mixed impacts on the programs [1,7].…”

Complexity of Barriers to Biogas Digester Dissemination in Indonesia

“…One biogas unit of 6 m 3 capacity is estimated to reduce 3.2 tonnes CO2/year according to Gold Standard (Vorley, Porras, & Amrein, 2015). The biogas digesters are planned to be distributed to farmers households that own sufficient livestock and use fossil fuel (LPG) or non-renewable biomass (firewood) as their cooking fuel (Budiman, 2020). In the NAMA, biogas programs are only counted if it has the clear target and can be monitored, reported and verified, such as biogas programs from the MEMR and the MA (MEF, interview, 25 June 2018).…”

“…Since the 2000s, the global south countries such as Indonesia have shown rapid economic growth that guided to high dependence on oil and gas for energy. The use of fossil fuel has been significantly increasing Greenhouse Gasses emissions (Bond et al, 2011;Budiman, 2020). Regarding energy for cooking, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and firewood are the dominant energy sources in Indonesia (Andadari, 2014;BPS, 2017).…”