Why Indonesia’s waste-to-energy goal may not be ‘quick fix’ for landfill crisis

Indonesia’s appointment of two Chinese companies to run waste-to-energy (WtE) projects in two cities – part of President Prabowo Subianto’s push to reduce mounting rubbish in landfills while generating power – has sparked a debate over costs, efficiency and whether the initiative will deliver on its waste-reduction goals. Danantara, the Indonesian state wealth fund, on Friday announced that it had chosen Wangneng Environment as the operator of a WtE plant in the city of Bekasi, while Zhejiang Weiming Environment Protection would operate a similar facility in Denpasar, the capital of Bali province. “Today’s announcement marks an important step in ensuring waste-to-energy facilities are managed to the highest standards of operational reliability, safety and accountability,” Pandu Sjahrir, chief investment officer in Danantara, said in a statement. The two companies were selected from a field of more than 200 foreign bidders, with 24 making the shortlist in December, including firms from China, Japan and France. In October, Pandu said that Indonesia’s WtE incineration process would be modelled on China, whose plants helped it manage a surge in waste generation in 2007-08. China currently operates more than 1,000 incineration facilities, processing over 1.1 million tonnes of waste daily. Last month, Prabowo laid out his plan to build 34 WtE plants, amid projections that almost all of Indonesia’s final disposal sites will reach overcapacity by 2028. In Indonesia, overloaded landfills have led to environmental disasters that claim lives. In the latest incident, heavy rain on Sunday triggered the collapse of a garbage mound at Bantargebang, the country’s largest landfill, killing seven people. “The nation’s current and crucial problem is waste. Therefore, this year we will open 34 waste-to-energy projects in 34 cities,” Prabowo said on February 2. Danantara said the 34-plant programme would require US$5.5 billion in investment, with each facility needing a budget of up to 3 trillion rupiah (US$177 million). At least 500 workers could be employed at each plant, the fund said. The chosen operators must form consortiums with local state-owned enterprises and private companies to spur technology transfer and boost domestic business participation in the projects, Danantara said. Not a panacea Analysts said that while WtE plants could help address Indonesia’s waste crisis, their success would depend on waste supply reliability, public education and environmental compliance. “The waste-to-energy project creates a long-term commitment. Most WtE incineration plants in the world have 20- or 25-year contracts with the government, which guarantees that they will meet the waste supply threshold and purchase electricity in the long term,” said Bakhrul Fikri, a researcher at the Centre of Economic and Law Studies. Under Danantara’s scheme, state-owned energy provider PLN is set to buy electricity from WtE incinerators at 20 US cents per kilowatt-hour for 30 years, while so-called tipping fees – costs charged to local governments for waste processing – would be subsidised by the state. Without subsidies, Bakhrul estimated each municipality could pay up to 182 billion rupiah a year in tipping fees per incinerator, based on processing 1,000 tonnes of waste daily to generate a maximum output of 17 megawatts. The electricity produced by WtE plants would be roughly three times more expensive than power generated by coal or renewables, Bakhrul said. “WtE electricity costs 21 US cents per kWh. Compared with existing coal-fired power plants, which cost six US cents to eight US cents, that’s a significant difference. Energy from solar panels is even cheaper, at five US cents to seven US cents per kWh. So why should we choose electricity from WtE over renewable energy like solar panels or hydropower?” he said. Wahyu Eka Setyawan, an urban campaigner with green group Walhi, said that while WtE plants “solve the waste problem downstream”, the fact that “composition of our waste is mostly wet waste” raised questions about feedstock availability. Wet waste refers to organic matter such as food scraps, tissues, paper towels and yard waste. Incinerators typically required additional energy input to process such material and could not handle non-combustible waste such as metals, plastics and auto parts, Wahyu said. “If a city can only supply 300 tonnes of waste per day, the resulting electricity output would be small. The plants wouldn’t be optimal. So, the concern is that the incinerator costs a lot, but the output is low,” Wahyu said. “Meanwhile, foreign investors expect a profit. To make a profit, local governments must maintain the amount of waste they generate. So it’s a vicious cycle, since it will discourage waste reduction and waste sorting at source. The WtE projects, for us, do not solve the waste problem.” Ronny Sasmita, a senior analyst at the Indonesia Strategic and Economic Action Institution think tank, said that in neighbouring countries, public concern typically centred on transparency and pollution rather than the technology itself. “While modern incineration technology can drastically reduce emissions compared to older power plants, it is not completely emissions-free. Waste such as fly ash, bottom ash and micro-pollutants still require strictly regulated handling,” Ronny wrote in a column for news outlet Kompas on Tuesday. “Therefore, public consultation and education should precede each new construction phase, making local acceptance an integral component of policy design.” He urged Danantara to publish real-time public dashboards covering operational data, emissions and ash disposal, and to adopt international standards such as those governing waste incineration in the European Union. “Indonesia should view waste-to-energy not as a quick fix [to its waste problem], but as a test of its ability to align climate ambition, industrial pragmatism and clean governance,” Ronny said.

Why Indonesia’s waste-to-energy goal may not be ‘quick fix’ for landfill crisis

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}With billions to be spent on new waste-to-energy plants, critics are questioning the potential cost to Indonesian cities and the environment

With billions to be spent on new waste-to-energy plants, critics are questioning the potential cost to Indonesian cities and the environment