Saving the world at the flick of a power switch

The Jakarta Post, Friday, February 24, 2006

“My mother always reminds me to turn off unnecessary lighting. I always thought that was her nagging, now I know it’s more than that,” said 15-year-old Hapsari Sulistyaningrum.

Hapsari and her friends from State High School No. 61 in East Jakarta were educated about the importance of saving energy during a Power Switch campaign conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia and Gadis magazine.

Turn off lights and air conditioners when leaving a room, turn off computer monitors during break time, save paper by using both sides and do not put electronic appliances on standby — turn them off.

There is nothing revolutionary in such advice. The campaign focuses more on how these simple acts contribute to a greater good that is to slow down global warming.

“Fossil fuel-based electricity generation is responsible for up to 37 percent of the carbon dioxide spewed into the air globally,” policy advocacy campaigner for WWF Indonesia’s climate and energy program Muhamad Suhud said, explaining that this in turn contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, which cause climate change.

Each time people watch television, turn on an air conditioner or a light, use a hair dryer, play a video game, or use a microwave or a washing machine, they are contributing to global warming.

On the other hand, the rate of deforestation has created a situation in which the remaining forests are overloaded in converting carbon dioxide to oxygen.

“There’s just not enough forested land to keep pace with the amount of carbon dioxide that goes into the atmosphere,” Suhud said.

As a result, average global temperatures rose by about 0.7 degrees Celsius between 1990 and 2006, he said, adding that climate experts believe current temperatures will rise by about 5.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

What happens when temperatures rise? Glaciers will melt at a faster pace; experts believe that, by 2080, the water surface will rise by between nine to 69 centimeters, endangering the population of people on island nations, including Indonesia.

Furthermore, experts believe that an increase above two degrees Celsius will cause the extinction of many species especially in the Arctic and tropical areas.

Closer to home, Suhud said the high concentration of demand in big cities had forced state power company PLN to focus production on these areas. Only 53 percent of households nationwide have access to electricity, some 60 percent of which are on Java, mostly in Jakarta.

“Meanwhile, demand for electricity continues to increase, and PLN has no means to keep up. As a result, the public experiences blackouts more frequently,” he said.

If people on Java in particular used electricity efficiently then PLN could concentrate on other areas of the country, he added.

“It’s really difficult to manage without electricity, no computers on which to do homework, no radio or television with which to listen to the news,” Hapsari said.

“I’ll be certain now to turn off lights when I don’t need them, it’s the least I can do to save energy.”

The Power Switch campaign will also go to State High School No. 34 in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, and private BPK Penabur No. 5 high school in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

‘Fruity’ oil forgotten alternative to diesel fuel

The Jakarta Post, Wednesday, February 15, 2006

The Japanese encouraged farmers in Indonesia — at the time a Japanese colony — to grow Jatropha curcas linnaeus, locally known as jarak pagar, as an alternative fuel for its tanks and warplanes during World War II.

Not too long ago, the fruits of this plant — its leaves traditionally used to cure stomach aches in babies — was also used as a substitute for kerosene.

However, cheap and easy access to fossil fuels led to this useful plant being passed over or relegated to backyard gardens as shrubbery.

“Fossil fuels have given us a false sense of security for too long, we never considered any other fuel, because it was cheap and easily available,” Nadirman Haska, head of biotechnological research at the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), said Tuesday.

It’s a different story today. As oil reserves dwindle and prices increase, Indonesia has taken the first serious step towards commercializing biofuel with Presidential Instruction No. 1/2006 for the provision and utilization of biofuel as a fuel alternative, issued in January.

And people are finally turning their attention back to the jarak pagar as a possible fuel alternative.

The oil produced by the fruits of the jarak pagar can be used to substitute diesel fuel, or biodiesel, Nadirman said during a media trip organized by NGO Mitra Emisi Bersih (clean emission partner) to BPPT’s biotechnology workshop in Serpong.

“Jarak pagar has the advantage of being able to grow in extremely dry conditions. Even in regions with only four months of rainfall, it can prosper,” he said, comparing it to palm oil, which can only grow in specific conditions.

From the time of planting, it takes only six months until the jarak plant bears fruit, but maximum productivity is only achieved when the plant is more than six years old.

“Then it can be harvested for three or four months a year until the plant reaches the age of 20 years,” Nadirman said.

Some 2,500 jarak plants can be planted on a hectare of land, which will yield approximately 10 tons of fruits a year in favorable conditions such as in West Java, he said, explaining that each 12.5 tons of fruit can yield about 1,900 liters of oil.

“To substitute 20 percent of diesel fuel we need about 3.5 million hectares of jarak plantation,” Nadirman said.

Unfortunately, the utilization of the jarak plant is still in its early stages with the BPPT still trying to encourage farmers to plant jarak pagar and to attract the attention of the private sector.

Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but besides being used in its pure form it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend.

It can be used directly in compression ignition (diesel) engines with very little or no engine modification because biodiesel has properties similar to petroleum diesel fuels.

One of the most readily available biodiesel sources, and one that has been researched extensively at BPPT, is from palm oil.

The head of the BPPT’s engineering center, Soni Solistia Wirawan, said his office had researched the effects of a blend of up to 30 percent volume biodiesel and 70 percent petroleum diesel.

The research found substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matters — substances that cause air pollution.

“We have found that the use of palm oil biodiesel increases the cetane number meaning that ignition quality is improved,” Soni explained.