Energy Plant Plans For Bekasi

The Jakarta Globe,  Nivell Rayda, March 10, 2009 

The Bekasi municipality and two private companies began construction of a waste-to-energy, or WTE, power plant at the Bantar Gebang dump site on Tuesday to convert 5,000 tons of solid waste from Jakarta and surrounding areas into 12 megawatts of electricity per day by June 2010. 

With a total investment of $82 million, the plant, Indonesia’s second waste-to-energy power project, would be managed jointly by PT Navigat Organic Energy Indonesia, PT Manunggal Energy Group and the Bekasi municipality. It is still unclear how the Rp 80 billion ($6.72 million) of expected annual profit would be divided. 

Almost one year ago, the Bandung municipality in West Java Province started building its WTE plant in Gedebage subdistrict, the city’s landfill area. The Bandung plant would be operational by the end of this year. 

The Bantar Gebang facility would operate roughly in the same way as conventional, fossil fuel-powered plants. Solid waste is incinerated and the heat generated turns water into steam to drive a turbine connected to an electricity generator. 

Although the WTE plant would be capable of reducing the waste volume by up to 90 percent, the technology is not without its critics. In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, limits the use of WTE plants to only 17 percent of waste treatment. The agency found that incinerating the unpredictable materials of the waste, which may include materials made from fossil fuel or other toxic chemicals, can emit fumes which are hazardous to health. 

The agency requires all WTE plants in the US to separate toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury and chemicals such as dioxins and furans from the waste used to produce energy. 

Both in Bandung and Bantar Gebang, nearby residents have rejected the plan, fearing that the plants would damage the environment. With the cities’ bad track records in managing waste, residents are skeptical that the plants’ operators would be able to isolate the toxic waste. 

Yattie Setiati, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, or LIPI, the institution which assesses the environmental impact of the plants, said the government has anticipated the health and environmental damages which may arise. 

“The WTE plants are equipped with filters that keep the emissions at safe levels,” Yattie said. “All the dioxins are captured by water, while dust particles and mercuries are absorbed by calcium dioxides and carbons.” 

Yattie also said the fumes and smell would not disturb the surrounding area. “Each of the plant’s surrounding seven hectares will be planted with trees, creating a green belt to contain the pollutants,” she said. 

“People are afraid because the government has not done a good job in providing this information.”