Indonesia, South Korea Collaborates on Wood Biomass Energy

Written by Sabrina Deparine

Thursday, 26 March 2009 10:24

Page views: 951

Indonesia and South Korea had recently signed a memorandum of agreement to produce fuel from wood pellets. This is cheaper and cleaner to burn than the usual fossil fuels.
Flags of Indonesia and Suouth korea

The memorandum of understanding involves Korea Forest Service and the Forest Ministry of Indonesia. It requires 200,000 hectares of forest land which will be allocated for the production of wood for pellets starting late next year. This provision in the memorandum has increased the size of forest land that South Korea has leased from Indonesia to 700,000 hectares.

According to the state forestry service, the memorandum also gives the South Korean government a free 99-year lease on Kalimantan Island. Indonesia will also benefit from this since the investment can lead to more job opportunities for its people.

The forest service will only provide the administrative support. The actual construction of the pellet-making plant as well as its operations will be facilitated by private companies. The capacity of the fuel production can only be determined after the forest has been examined thoroughly to check on which plants will be usable.

Wood pellets are made from finely ground and compressed wood. Aside from being cheaper to use, wood pellets have good fuel qualities and can release less greenhouse gases compared to refined fuel products.

Wood pellets are cylindrical in shape. They have a relatively lower heat value than the usual diesel fuel, kerosene, and liquefied natural gas. However, wood pellets can provide a 99-square meter of space with sufficient heat for a very affordable price of KRW 1.8 million (USD 1,160) per year. This is cheaper because on the average, using diesel and other common forms of fuel would require KRW 3 million (USD 1,940) to KRW 4.2 million (USD 2,700) per year. Also, the wood pellets were found to produce as much as 12 times less greenhouse gases than the diesel fuel.

At the moment, the pellet consumption of South Korea is small. Also, its use is limited to some rural communities and greenhouses. Korea has only one operational wood pellet facility and most of its raw materials and resources are imported from Canada and China.

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