The Synergy between Pertamina and PTPN III Reduces Carbon Emissions of 70 Thousand Tons per Year from the Utilization of POME

Jakarta, August 21, 2021 - The synergy between Pertamina through subholding Pertamina NRE and PT Perkebunan Nusantara III (PTPN III) has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 70 thousand tons per year from the Sei Mangkei Biogas Power Plant (PLTBg).

Sei Mangkei PLTBg is a collaboration between Pertamina through subholding Pertamina NRE and PTPN III, which was built to supply the electricity in the Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and has been operating since January 2020. The cooperation scheme used is Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT).

"The collaboration between Pertamina NRE and PTPN III in the development of the Sei Mangkei PLTBg is a strategic collaboration to increase new and renewable energy in the energy mix while reducing carbon emissions, especially in the Sei Mangkei SEZ, which has a green economic zone concept," said Pertamina NRE Chief Executive Officer, Dannif Danusaputro.

Sei Mangkei PLTBg has a capacity of 2.4 MW and was built on an area of about 2 hectares belongs to PTPN III. Sei Mangkei PLTBg is fueled by palm oil mill effluent (POME) or palm oil liquid waste, which annually can absorb up to 288,350 cubic meters of POME.

It is known that the open processing of POME in palm oil mills produces methane gas which is not environmentally friendly. Moreover, with the Sei Mangkei PLTBg, the use of POME has the potential to reduce methane gas emissions by around 2,500 tons of CH4 or equivalent to 70 thousand tons of CO2 in a year.

"PTPN Group is committed to developing NRE and supporting the target of the NRE mix of 23% by 2025 through the development of PLTBg and biogas co-firing programs in the PTPN Group PKS unit with Pertamina NRE," said PTPN III President Director, Mohammad Abdul Ghani.

Ghani added that the development of PLTBg benefits the company, including reducing methane and carbon gas emissions, reducing fossil-based electricity consumption, and gaining profit. In addition, the utilization of POME for PLTBg provides economic value for PTPN III, which reaches almost IDR3.5 billion per year.

In addition to PLTBg, Pertamina NRE has also built solar power plants (PLTS) in Sei Mangkei with a capacity of 2 MW. As a result, PLTBg and PLTS Sei Mangkei can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 70 thousand tons per year and 2 thousand tons per year, respectively. Thus, the potential for emission reductions supports the Sei Mangkei SEZ Green Economic Zone concept. Furthermore, for industrial consumers in the region, the development of NRE plants supports their efforts to focus on obtaining a green certificate.

Furthermore, the PLTBg Sei Mangkei Local Content Level (TKDN) realization in the construction process reached 61%. Dannif added that Pertamina has a strong commitment to achieving sustainable development goals. The realization of a fairly high TKDN is in line with the 8th Goal, namely the creation of Decent Work and Economic Growth, while efforts to reduce GHG emissions are in line with the 13th Goal, namely tackling Climate Action. Pertamina also integrates its business with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) aspects to create a responsible and sustainable business.**