Energy Minister Says Putri Cempo WTE Plant will be Operational in April

MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

PRESS RELEASE

NUMBER: 39.Pers/04/SJI/2022

Date: 25 January 2022

Energy Minister Says Putri Cempo WTE Plant will be Operational in April

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR) Arifin Tasrif inspected the Putri Cempo Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant in Surakarta, Central Java Province, to follow up with President Joko Widodo's directives regarding waste dumping in urban areas.

"The project is progressing steadily. There are challenges, and the operation start may be delayed a bit, but we'll make sure 2 megawatts (MW) become operational in April 2022, and gradually the plant will come to 10 MW full capacity in December," said Arifin at the Putri Cempo WTE plant site on Tuesday (25/1).

Arifin went on to detail the challenges to the WTE project, among others, the Covid-19 pandemic which hampered the delivery of equipment and workers who were prohibited from working due to the restrictions of activities some time ago. "To transport this equipment (gasifier), it took up to three months because it's enormous and cannot be disassembled and reassembled," added Arifin.

Arifin said the Putri Cempo WTE plant is expected to set an example for the development of other WTE projects listed in the National Priority Program (PSN) of Presidential Regulation Number 35 of 2018 on Accelerated Development of Waste to Energy Installations with Environmentally Friendly Technologies.

"This is just the second WTE plant. Our intention is to build 12 WTE plants. The first one is the Benowo WTE plant in Surabaya, which is fully operational. The technology is different. Benowo uses incinerator, while Putri Cempo uses gasifier," ucap Arifin.

WTE projects are the government's program to utilize clean and renewable energy. It also forms one of Indonesia's commitment to reduce methane gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and pursue the Net Zero Emission target by 2060.

Arifin hopes that local governments would start the initiative to complete WTE projects because the projects will have a significant impact on local or city governments, especially in terms of public health and urban planning.

"We must move together in completing WTE projects. We need local governments' initiative because the local governments will feel the most significant environmental, public health, and economic impacts. So, their initiatives are needed," Arifin concluded. (IY)

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