Observer: B50 Biodiesel Mandate a Renewable Energy Transition Effort
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Executive Director of the Centre for Energy and Mining Law Studies (PUSHEP) Bisman Bhaktiar stated that the B50 biodiesel mandate, scheduled to commence on 1 July 2026, is an effort towards renewable energy transition, given that fossil fuel availability is certain to decline in the future.
“The utilisation of B50 can be one of the steps to increase the energy mix,” he said when contacted in Jakarta on Friday.
According to him, the B50 mandate is expected to reduce the need for diesel, as the fuel is mixed with 50 percent plant-based material.
He explained that B50 is also a government effort to increase the energy mix, which previously depended on fossil fuels, gradually shifting to new and renewable energy.
Therefore, the Muhammadiyah University Professor of Business Law stated that the implementation of B50 is also a renewable energy transition effort.
“This is towards an energy transition because in the future, fossil fuels will certainly continue to decrease, so they must be upgraded to renewable energy, and this is good,” he said.
Furthermore, from a financial aspect, the implementation of B50 will significantly reduce diesel fuel imports, which is beneficial for national efficiency.
Previously, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia confirmed that Indonesia would stop importing diesel fuel this year, following the 50 percent biodiesel (B50) mandate starting in July 2026.
“Next July we will inaugurate B50, which saves Indonesia’s face from dependence on diesel imports. Starting this year, we will no longer import diesel,” Bahlil said in Jakarta on Thursday.
He explained that Indonesia’s total diesel consumption has now reached 39 million kilolitres, with the B40 biodiesel mandate already implemented by the government.
“Of that 39 million kilolitres, yesterday it was B40, that’s 40 percent using FAME. FAME is made from CPO mixed with methanol. It is then blended into diesel called B40,” he said.