Jakarta, INTI - To accelerate the national energy transition, Indonesia must expand the use of biogas as a new and renewable energy source to support the achievement of renewable energy mix targets. In addition to producing clean energy, biogas development is considered capable of providing economic, social, and environmental benefits by utilizing organic waste.
Fabian Peri Wiropranoto, a researcher at Su-re.co, stated that biogas has significant potential to create added value by processing organic waste into an economically viable energy source.
"Why did we choose biogas for renewable energy development in villages? Because it has many benefits, from health to a circular economy. Biogas converts organic waste into value-added energy," said Fabian at the Pentahelix Dialogue: Mainstreaming Renewable Energy event in Jakarta on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
Fabian explained that Su-re.co's research in Bajawa, Sumba, and Bali showed that people in the countryside and villages still rely on firewood as their primary source of energy for cooking. This situation not only makes it difficult for people to find fuel but also increases the risk of health problems due to smoke exposure.
According to Su-re.co data, 98% of households in Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, experience health problems related to smoke exposure from cooking with firewood.
"Clean energy is still rare in villages, causing many problems related to health and emissions. But there is abundant material for biogas in the form of agricultural and livestock waste," said Fabian.
Biogas Development Benefits the Community
He assessed that biogas development can also support the achievement of Indonesia's 2026 target of 17-21% of the total national energy mix. Furthermore, biogas utilization is estimated to reduce LPG subsidies by around Rp1.4 trillion per year, and potentially serve 12.05 million households in approximately 75,265 villages across Indonesia.
Despite its significant prospects, biogas development has its challenges, including dependence on grant funding, limited technical and institutional capacity in villages, minimal local government support, and poor public understanding of the benefits of biogas as a clean energy source.
"We hope that biogas development will be bottom-up. We have communicated with local partners, village officials, and local governments so that biogas can be developed in villages," he explained.
Ministry of Villages: The Challenge is Community Capacity and Knowledge
Samsul Widodo, Director General for Development of Less-Developed Regions at the Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions, emphasized that the government supports renewable energy development in villages, including through optimizing the use of village funds.
"I hope each region can optimize its renewable energy potential. For example, biogas has great potential for development because many villages have livestock and agricultural activities," he said.
According to Samsul, villages already have financial resources that can be utilized to support renewable energy development. Therefore, the main challenge now is increasing community capacity and knowledge regarding the energy potential available in their respective areas.
"There are village funds. They have the money to optimize this potential. What villages need is knowledge related to this renewable energy potential," he emphasized.
ESDM: Stakeholders Synergy is Needed
Meanwhile, Erick Ta'dung, Acting Coordinator for Renewable Energy Engineering and Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said that villages have an abundant supply of raw materials for biogas development, ranging from livestock waste, agricultural and plantation waste, to household waste.
Erick emphasized that accelerating biogas development requires close collaboration between the government, the business world, financial institutions, academics, and various development partners.
"Synergy is needed between the central and regional governments to formulate policies, regulations, standards, guidelines, and supervision, as well as to facilitate biogas development. Furthermore, from the industrial perspective, it is necessary to build and operate facilities to improve biogas quality," said Erick.
Conclusion
Su-re.co assessed that biogas can process organic waste into economically valuable energy, create jobs, and reduce the health impacts of firewood, which is still widely used in villages. Biogas development is also expected to help achieve the 2026 EBT mix target, reduce LPG subsidies by up to Rp1.4 trillion per year, and has the potential to reach 12.05 million households in 75,265 villages..
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