Asian Agri to build 20 new biogas power plants

By Bernard Loebs

Palm oil giant Asian Agri plans to build 20 new biogas power plants with combined capacity of 40 MW in the country through to 2020.

The company, which currently operates five biogas power plants, said in a statement on Thursday that if other palm oil companies in the country, which is the largest palm oil producer in the world, can also build similar biogas power plants, the current electricity shortage at home can be resolved without government?s budget.

The biogas comes from the company?s palm oil mill effluent.

Asian Agri Director Fredy Widjaya said in the statement that the firm?s existing five biogas power plants (two in North Sumatra, two in Riau, and 1 in Jambi) with combined capacity of 6 MW provide electricity to support the group?s entire operation, does allowing it to no longer get electricity supply from state-owned power firm PT PLN.

Fredy said in fact the company currently has excess power of 1.3 MW, which the company hopes could be sold to PLN. He said that the excess power can light up 7,000 households assuming each with capacity of 900 MW.

Asian Agri said that two new biogas power plants are expected to be completed next year.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak