BATTLE ON EMISSION REDUCTION CLAIMS

This research paper by Trend Asia critiques the Indonesian state electricity company's (PT PLN) claim that biomass co-firing in coal-fired power plants reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The author argues that the strategy increases overall emissions due to deforestation required for energy timber plantations and fails to reduce actual coal consumption.

• PT PLN claims that co-firing biomass (replacing 5-10% of coal supply) supports a target of 23% renewable energy by 2025, but Trend Asia argues this does not reduce coal utilization. Statistics show that while biomass use increased from 9,731 tonnes in 2020 to 282,628 tonnes in 2021, coal utilization also rose from 66.68 million tonnes to 68.47 million tonnes in the same period.
• To meet the biomass needs for 107 coal-fired power plants at a 10% co-firing level, Trend Asia estimates a requirement of 10.23 million tonnes of wood pellets per year. This would require energy timber plantations (HTE) covering at least 2.33 million hectares, which is approximately 35 times the size of Jakarta.
• The development of energy timber plantations (HTE) is likely to cause significant deforestation. Based on Map Biomas Indonesia data showing that 38% of industrial forest coverage in 2019 came from natural forest opening, Trend Asia estimates that an acacia-based HTE would potentially cause 1,048,344 hectares of deforestation.
• Trend Asia's mathematical modeling indicates that biomass co-firing is not carbon neutral because the carbon stock lost from natural forests during deforestation cannot be compensated for by the carbon absorbed by HTE. The net emission gap from deforestation is estimated between 6.8 million and 11.3 million tonnes of CO2e.
• Total emissions from the full lifecycle of co-firing (from deforestation to production) for 107 plants are estimated between 7.9 and 26.5 million tonnes of CO2e per year, depending on the tree species used. For example, using gamal trees would result in the highest emissions at 26.48 million tonnes of CO2e per year.
• The report concludes that co-firing is used to extend the operational life of coal plants that should be decommissioned, and that coal demand will continue to rise, with projections increasing from 111 million tonnes in 2021 to 153 million tonnes in 2030.

APA

Muhajir, M., Febrian, R., Nagara, G., Saputra, P. A., Damanik, I., Agustiorini, S., Erlina, M. I., Indradi, Y., Nasution, M., & Airlinus, Z. (2022). BATTLE ON EMISSION REDUCTION CLAIMS. Trend Asia. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Battle-on-Emission-Reduction-Claims.pdf

Chicago

Muhajir, Mumu, Ramada Febrian, Grahat Nagara, Putut Aryo Saputra, Iqbal Damanik, Sarah Agustiorini, Meike Inda Erlina, et al. BATTLE ON EMISSION REDUCTION CLAIMS. Trend Asia, 2022. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Battle-on-Emission-Reduction-Claims.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Muhajir |first1=Mumu |last2=Febrian |first2=Ramada |last3=Nagara |first3=Grahat |last4=Saputra |first4=Putut Aryo |last5=Damanik |first5=Iqbal |last6=Agustiorini |first6=Sarah |last7=Erlina |first7=Meike Inda |last8=Indradi |first8=Yuyun |last9=Nasution |first9=Marina |display-authors=etal |title=BATTLE ON EMISSION REDUCTION CLAIMS |publisher=Trend Asia |date=August 2022 |url=https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Battle-on-Emission-Reduction-Claims.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{muhajir2022battle, author = {Muhajir, Mumu and Febrian, Ramada and Nagara, Grahat and Saputra, Putut Aryo and Damanik, Iqbal and Agustiorini, Sarah and Erlina, Meike Inda and Indradi, Yuyun and Nasution, Marina and Airlinus, Zamzami}, title = {{BATTLE ON EMISSION REDUCTION CLAIMS}}, institution = {Trend Asia}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Battle-on-Emission-Reduction-Claims.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }