Indonesia’s largest garbage disposal site, the Bantar Gebang landfill in East Jakarta, is the improbable site of a bold experiment to solve two of Jakarta’s most vexing problems: creating more electrical power and reducing its growing mound of garbage. Since its establishment in 2009, PT Navigat Organic Energy Indonesia (NOEI) has been processing and then burning Jakarta’s garbage to turn it into electrical power. So far four megawatt of power fired from methane gas has been produced.
On a pure economic scale, Navigat is, so far, a failure. It has yet been generating losses, earning about only two thirds of every rupiah it spends to generate one kilowatt of electricity. But that hasn't stopped the company from believing in garbage as an unlikely hidden source of fortune. “We believe our business will triumph. We may still be suffering losses now, but when the time is right, this waste can be turned into treasure,” said Navigat’s President Director Agus Santoso, in an interview in his 800 square meter office at Senayan City complex in July 27.
PT Navigat Organic Energy Indonesia was established in 2003 in affiliation with PT Navigat Energy, the sole distributor of GE Jenbacher—the world's leading gas engine manufacturer. The alliance with Navigat Energy ended in 2007, when 95 percent of the stake transferred to Singapore's Wirose Investment that partly owned by Willi Gaysmith and Pierre Sauren. The remaining stake in NOEI is now hold by PT Multi Artha Sukses Sejahtera owned by Arief Tjandrawinata.
The potential in doing waste business in Indonesia is huge. Indonesia produces almost 200,000 metric tons of trash daily and demand for electrical power is growing at least 9% annually, this waste-to-power business in theory holds loads of potential. Taking into account that one megawatt (MW) of power requires between 50 and 75 tons of waste, Indonesia is sitting on an unlikely natural resource that could be exploited to produce at least 2,500 MW of electricity a year just on the existing supply of waste, not counting the trash already lying around all over the country in landfills. To put that in perspective, 2,500 MW of electricity is enough power for meet the requirements for 2 million households daily.
To be sure, there are reasons besides commercial ones to develop this technology. It is a form of “green” energy, and Other reasons? incentives in the form of potential revenue from the carbon market and local governments would also help cover cost, says Agus N Santoso, Navigat president director.
"There is still hope," says Agus, 49.
The project expects to earn the company $15 US a ton from the carbon market, Agus says, while a fee of Rp 98,000 ($10.5 US) for every metric ton of waste is expected from the local administration, enough to cover about 35 percent and 24 percent from operational cost, respectively.
Although those would not come without a problem.
"So far, only Jakarta has allocated such a fee," Agus said. “For the carbon credit scheme, Navigat still needs to wait for approval, and it may take sometime before it fully materializes."
So for now, Navigat is making do by utilizing 'the sideline products' of the process, that includes concrete brick, fertilizer, tar and recycling output such as plastic, paper and card board.
Agus said the proceeds would help bring in extra income, to complement the 8 US cent it receives for selling 1 kilowatt hour of electricity to state utility company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), about 4 US cent short of the cost it spends to have that electricity generated.
Navigat currently operates the 9.6 MW power plant in Sarbagita, Bali and is scheduled to soon run total a 14 MW plant in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi.
The $30 million plant in Bali had been registered to attain certified emission reduction from United Nation Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC), with total carbon reduction of 123,423 tons annually. Navigat expects to secure a minimum of $1.5 million US annually from carbon trade.
In Bantar Gebang, Navigat invests Rp 300 billion jointly with PT Godang Tuajaya to generate 14 megawatt in 2011 and a carbon emission reduction from burning 750,000 tons of trash annually worth a minimum of $9 million.
For these projects, Navigat uses technology of pyrolysis, gasification, landfill gas and anaerobic digestion (GALFAD) with technical support coming from UK-based company Organics and GE Jenbacher of Austria, subsidiary of GE Energy, which has engaged in gas engine business for over five decades and involved in series of biogas engines project including in Australia, Italia, Spanish, China, Pakistan, and Japan.
Pyrolysis technology is a burning process that leaves no carbon emission to the environment. In the gasification, trash at the final disposal point were put in waste reception area before heading for a plant to separate the organic trash from non organic one. Gasification of organic trash is the process of converting biomass into methane gas and it has widely used since the Second World War to operate cars, trucks, boats, trains and generators.
The organic waste would be crushed and dried before being heated with 1,000-1,300 Celsius temperature to undergo a process called anaerobic digestion to produce carbon monoxide, methane and hydrogen -- about 85 percent of which will be used to fuel generator, namely gas engine, to produce electricity. The remaining waste from this process will be used to produce concrete brick.
Wet organic trash will go to structured landfills. It will be covered with membranes cells and filled with water to create fermentation and produce gas. The gas will proceed to the generator, while the remaining trash will be processed into fertilizer. For the non organic trash, it will be selected again before it undergoes a recycling process.
Waste to energy power plant has widely used across Europe and US since 1970s. According Belgium-based Confederation of European Waste to Energy Plants's data published in 2008, about 432 waste plants operate in Europe, with total generating capacity 26 billion kWh of electricity and 65 billion kWh of heat, enough to distribute electricity to 5 million households and heat for 4 million households. While in US, based on International Solid Waste Association, the waste plants were amounting to 89, with total generating capacity 2,493 MW. Currently, about 780 waste plants operate worldwide processing 140 million tons of waste annually, referring to Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council's data.
PLN, the sole provider of electricity in the country and the buyer of electricity generated by independent power producers, praised Navigat's initiative as the catalyst for the development of renewable energy in the country.
While the potential is there, it is such an infant industry in Indonesia. This year for instance, electricity generated from renewable source of energy would stand at 4 MW, mostly coming from biomass-based industries such as oil palm, wood and sugar cane.
Moch Sofyan, head division of renewable energy of PLN said the 14 MW in Bantar Gebang could help bring electricity to 15,000 to 17,000 households. “PLN supports any development from renewable energy,” Sofyan said.
Power Purchase Agreement for Bantar Gebang plant had signed in August with tariff set at Rp820 a kWh per the first seven years, and decreased to Rp750 a kWh afterward.
By 2015, PLN estimates that biomass could reach a total capacity of 25 MW and further increase to 40 MW in 2019.
“We want the development of the energy to concentrate outside Java, as those islands desperately need power, besides they have resources, including waste and residue from palm oil, and sugar cane,” Sofyan said.
“If they can generate 2 MW from the waste, it means they could bring electricity for a whole regency."
“Much works still to be done to reduce obstacles to investment in the country’s clean-energy sector,” Sofyan said, “But from our side (PLN), we are now in negotiation to increase feed in tariffs and how to accelerate the power purchase agreement.”
Navigat could smell a fresh air if the tariff negotiations bear fruits. Indeed, even now that it is in the red, the company is eager to participate in many more independent power producer project tenders to be carried out by PLN for Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, and Semarang.
“We keep our hope alive for our business triumph. We may still suffer losses for now, but when the time is right, these waste will turn to treasure,” Agus beams.
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