Firm to extract gas from garbage
Firm to extract gas from garbage
JAKARTA (JP): A private firm has submitted a proposal to
municipal authorities which, if approved, could see gas being
extracted at the 108-hectare Bantargebang rubbish dump in Bekasi,
40 kilometers west of Jakarta.
A golf course would then be developed on the vacant site,
according to the president of PT Suar Bhumi Tirta Pratama,
Bambang Tri Budiman, whose company submitted the proposal.
The biogas project, costing US$55 million, could supply 10
megawatts of power to state-owned PLN electricity company and
neighboring industries.
Ninety percent of the project is to be financed through a soft
loan from a Danish bank. "The bank expressed their commitment
after learning that the project is environmentally friendly",
Bambang told reporters after submitting the proposal to Governor
Sutiyoso Thursday.
Bambang said that the governor had given a green light to the
project after learning of the details, claiming that "the
governor hopes to see the project realized as soon as possible".
Sutiyoso could not be reached for further confirmation.
The project will develop in stages, under a 50 year build-
operate-transfer system.
Bambang explained that PT Suar Bhumi planned to divide the
dump into five zones. The first and second zones will be
developed in the first 10 year stage of the project, at a cost of
$16 million. He proposed that later stages of the project also be handled
by his company.
After 20 years, enough land will be available at the Bekasi
site to develop a golf course and greenbelt area, Bambang
estimated.
Gas found in the site, methane resulting from the natural
decomposition of organic waste, will be extracted using Danish
technology and converted into energy. Thirty-five percent of the
gas will be turned into electrical power and 55 percent into
heat, which can be used for other purposes, Bambang said.
He hopes that gas extraction will start at site shortly after
completing the first stage of the project. Bambang proposes that
electricity generation be jointly handled by his company and the
city's health agency.
The project will also hire 100 scavengers and local residents
to operate turbines, which are used to extract the waste. "In
another words, the project will create jobs for the people", he
said. (ind)