Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia should develop and use seaweed as a biofuel since the commodity can be easily produced on a massive scale in the country, a marine resources official said.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia should adopt a strategy to develop its seaweed industry to produce biofuel and eventually make it its main fuel,\" said Soenan H Poernomo, the head of the Marine and Fisheries Ministry`s Data, Statistics and Information Center, said here Friday.<\/p>\n
He said seaweed must be developed to become the country`s main fuel because fossil fuel reserves were to deplete while solar energy would be become unreliable because, as a consequence of climate change, tropical countries would have much rain (blocking sunshine).<\/p>\n
Moreover, biofuel from plants would compete with food security programs and land on which to grow the plants would be increasingly occupied by human settlements.
\n\"Indonesia is the world`s largest archipelagic country and has the longest coastline in the world,\" Soenan said.<\/p>\n
He said, in the matter of designing an energy development strategy, Indonesia could learn from South Korea which was anticipating the depletion of fossil fuels, by developing seaweed as biofuel for the future.<\/p>\n
The Korean Institute of Technology (Kitech), he added, had expressed interest in cooperating with Indonesia in cultivating seaweed as a biofuel in West Sulawesi and Bangka Belitung.<\/p>\n
\"So far seaweed is mainly being used as a raw material to make certain foods and cosmetics,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the government was optimistic that Indonesia`s seaweed production will increase from 2.6 million tons in 2010 to 10 million tons in 2014. (*)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-should-develop-seaweed-as-biofuel-1289181687", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }