IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i10p2803-d554208.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessment of Indonesia’s Future Renewable Energy Plan: A Meta-Analysis of Biofuel Energy Return on Investment (EROI)

Author

Listed:
  • Wiraditma Prananta

    (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia)

  • Ida Kubiszewski

    (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia)

Abstract

In early 2020, Indonesia implemented the biodiesel 30 (B30) program as an initiative to reduce Indonesia’s dependency on fossil fuels and to protect Indonesia’s palm oil market. However, palm oil has received international criticism due to its association with harmful environmental externalities. This paper analysed whether an investment in palm oil-based biofuel (POBB) provides Indonesia with the ability to achieve its environmental and financial goals. In this research, we performed a meta-analysis on biofuel energy return on investment (EROI) by examining 44 biofuel projects using ten types of biofuel feedstocks from 13 countries between 1995 and 2016. Results showed an average EROI of 3.92 and 3.22 for POBB and other biomass-based biofuels (OBBB), respectively. This shows that if only energy inputs and outputs are considered, biofuels provide a positive energy return. However, biofuels, including those from palm oil, produce externalities especially during land preparation and land restoration. We also compared these EROI biofuel results with other renewable energy sources and further analysed the implications for renewable energies to meet society’s energy demands in the future. Results showed that biofuel gives the lowest EROI compared to other renewable energy sources. Its EROI of 3.92, while positive, has been categorised as “not feasible for development”. If Indonesia plans to continue with its biofuel program, some major improvements will be necessary.

Suggested Citation

  • Wiraditma Prananta & Ida Kubiszewski, 2021. "Assessment of Indonesia’s Future Renewable Energy Plan: A Meta-Analysis of Biofuel Energy Return on Investment (EROI)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:10:p:2803-:d:554208
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2803/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2803/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charles A. S. Hall & Stephen Balogh & David J.R. Murphy, 2009. "What is the Minimum EROI that a Sustainable Society Must Have?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Schmalensee, Richard, 2015. "The future of solar energy: A personal assessment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(S1), pages 142-148.
    3. Bhandari, Khagendra P. & Collier, Jennifer M. & Ellingson, Randy J. & Apul, Defne S., 2015. "Energy payback time (EPBT) and energy return on energy invested (EROI) of solar photovoltaic systems: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 133-141.
    4. Thamsiriroj, T. & Murphy, J.D., 2009. "Is it better to import palm oil from Thailand to produce biodiesel in Ireland than to produce biodiesel from indigenous Irish rape seed?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(5), pages 595-604, May.
    5. Fizaine, Florian & Court, Victor, 2016. "Energy expenditure, economic growth, and the minimum EROI of society," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 172-186.
    6. Papong, Seksan & Chom-In, Tassaneewan & Noksa-nga, Soottiwan & Malakul, Pomthong, 2010. "Life cycle energy efficiency and potentials of biodiesel production from palm oil in Thailand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 226-233, January.
    7. Khatiwada, Dilip & Venkata, Bharadwaj K. & Silveira, Semida & Johnson, Francis X., 2016. "Energy and GHG balances of ethanol production from cane molasses in Indonesia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 756-768.
    8. Yáñez Angarita, Edgar Eduardo & Silva Lora, Electo Eduardo & da Costa, Rosélis Ester & Torres, Ednildo Andrade, 2009. "The energy balance in the Palm Oil-Derived Methyl Ester (PME) life cycle for the cases in Brazil and Colombia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2905-2913.
    9. Hannah V. Cooper & Stephanie Evers & Paul Aplin & Neil Crout & Mohd Puat Dahalan & Sofie Sjogersten, 2020. "Author Correction: Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from conversion of peat swamp forest to oil palm plantation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-1, December.
    10. Mohammad I. Jahirul & Mohammad G. Rasul & Ashfaque Ahmed Chowdhury & Nanjappa Ashwath, 2012. "Biofuels Production through Biomass Pyrolysis —A Technological Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(12), pages 1-50, November.
    11. Carraretto, C. & Macor, A. & Mirandola, A. & Stoppato, A. & Tonon, S., 2004. "Biodiesel as alternative fuel: Experimental analysis and energetic evaluations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 2195-2211.
    12. Lambert, Jessica G. & Hall, Charles A.S. & Balogh, Stephen & Gupta, Ajay & Arnold, Michelle, 2014. "Energy, EROI and quality of life," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 153-167.
    13. Hannah V. Cooper & Stephanie Evers & Paul Aplin & Neil Crout & Mohd Puat Bin Dahalan & Sofie Sjogersten, 2020. "Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from conversion of peat swamp forest to oil palm plantation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    14. Kubiszewski, Ida & Cleveland, Cutler J. & Endres, Peter K., 2010. "Meta-analysis of net energy return for wind power systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 218-225.
    15. de Souza, Simone Pereira & Pacca, Sergio & de Ávila, Márcio Turra & Borges, José Luiz B., 2010. "Greenhouse gas emissions and energy balance of palm oil biofuel," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 2552-2561.
    16. Saga, Kiyotaka & Imou, Kenji & Yokoyama, Shinya & Minowa, Tomoaki, 2010. "Net energy analysis of bioethanol production system from high-yield rice plant in Japan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(7), pages 2164-2168, July.
    17. Pleanjai, Somporn & Gheewala, Shabbir H., 2009. "Full chain energy analysis of biodiesel production from palm oil in Thailand," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(Supplemen), pages 209-214, November.
    18. Ana Meijide & Cristina Rua & Thomas Guillaume & Alexander Röll & Evelyn Hassler & Christian Stiegler & Aiyen Tjoa & Tania June & Marife D. Corre & Edzo Veldkamp & Alexander Knohl, 2020. "Measured greenhouse gas budgets challenge emission savings from palm-oil biodiesel," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    19. Vassilis Stavrakas & Niki-Artemis Spyridaki & Alexandros Flamos, 2018. "Striving towards the Deployment of Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS): A Review of Research Priorities and Assessment Needs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-27, June.
    20. Oh, Ki-Yong & Nam, Woochul & Ryu, Moo Sung & Kim, Ji-Young & Epureanu, Bogdan I., 2018. "A review of foundations of offshore wind energy convertors: Current status and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 16-36.
    21. Yee, Kian Fei & Tan, Kok Tat & Abdullah, Ahmad Zuhairi & Lee, Keat Teong, 2009. "Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel: Revealing facts and benefits for sustainability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(Supplemen), pages 189-196, November.
    22. Zhang, Zhien & Pan, Shu-Yuan & Li, Hao & Cai, Jianchao & Olabi, Abdul Ghani & Anthony, Edward John & Manovic, Vasilije, 2020. "Recent advances in carbon dioxide utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    23. Piastrellini, Roxana & Arena, Alejandro Pablo & Civit, Bárbara, 2017. "Energy life-cycle analysis of soybean biodiesel: Effects of tillage and water management," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 13-20.
    24. Purnomo, Herry & Okarda, Beni & Dermawan, Ahmad & Ilham, Qori Pebrial & Pacheco, Pablo & Nurfatriani, Fitri & Suhendang, Endang, 2020. "Reconciling oil palm economic development and environmental conservation in Indonesia: A value chain dynamic approach," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    25. Hall, Charles A.S. & Lambert, Jessica G. & Balogh, Stephen B., 2014. "EROI of different fuels and the implications for society," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 141-152.
    26. Llamosas, Cecilia & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2021. "The future of hydropower? A systematic review of the drivers, benefits and governance dynamics of transboundary dams," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    27. Atlason, R.S. & Unnthorsson, R., 2013. "Hot water production improves the energy return on investment of geothermal power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 273-280.
    28. Walmsley, Timothy G. & Walmsley, Michael R.W. & Varbanov, Petar S. & Klemeš, Jiří J., 2018. "Energy Ratio analysis and accounting for renewable and non-renewable electricity generation: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 328-345.
    29. Khairul Azly Zahan & Manabu Kano, 2018. "Biodiesel Production from Palm Oil, Its By-Products, and Mill Effluent: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-25, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Delannoy, Louis & Longaretti, Pierre-Yves & Murphy, David J. & Prados, Emmanuel, 2021. "Peak oil and the low-carbon energy transition: A net-energy perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    2. Valerii Havrysh & Antonina Kalinichenko & Edyta Szafranek & Vasyl Hruban, 2022. "Agricultural Land: Crop Production or Photovoltaic Power Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Charisios Achillas & Dionysis Bochtis, 2021. "Supply Chain Management for Bioenergy and Bioresources: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-4, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Castanheira, Érica Geraldes & Acevedo, Helmer & Freire, Fausto, 2014. "Greenhouse gas intensity of palm oil produced in Colombia addressing alternative land use change and fertilization scenarios," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 958-967.
    2. Carlos de Castro & Iñigo Capellán-Pérez, 2020. "Standard, Point of Use, and Extended Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI) from Comprehensive Material Requirements of Present Global Wind, Solar, and Hydro Power Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-43, June.
    3. Roberto Leonardo Rana & Mariarosaria Lombardi & Pasquale Giungato & Caterina Tricase, 2020. "Trends in Scientific Literature on Energy Return Ratio of Renewable Energy Sources for Supporting Policymakers," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Cho, Hyun Jun & Kim, Jin-Kuk & Ahmed, Faisal & Yeo, Yeong-Koo, 2013. "Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and energy balances of a biodiesel production from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 479-488.
    5. Iriarte, Alfredo & Rieradevall, Joan & Gabarrell, Xavier, 2012. "Transition towards a more environmentally sustainable biodiesel in South America: The case of Chile," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 263-273.
    6. Dupont, Elise & Koppelaar, Rembrandt & Jeanmart, Hervé, 2018. "Global available wind energy with physical and energy return on investment constraints," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 322-338.
    7. Lina I. Brand-Correa & Paul E. Brockway & Claire L. Copeland & Timothy J. Foxon & Anne Owen & Peter G. Taylor, 2017. "Developing an Input-Output Based Method to Estimate a National-Level Energy Return on Investment (EROI)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, April.
    8. Polprasert, Chongchin & Patthanaissaranukool, Withida & Englande, Andrew J., 2015. "A choice between RBD (refined, bleached, and deodorized) palm olein and palm methyl ester productions from carbon movement categorization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 610-620.
    9. Marco Vittorio Ecclesia & João Santos & Paul E. Brockway & Tiago Domingos, 2022. "A Comprehensive Societal Energy Return on Investment Study of Portugal Reveals a Low but Stable Value," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, May.
    10. Salehi, Mohammad & Khajehpour, Hossein & Saboohi, Yadollah, 2020. "Extended Energy Return on Investment of multiproduct energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    11. Colla, Martin & Ioannou, Anastasia & Falcone, Gioia, 2020. "Critical review of competitiveness indicators for energy projects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    12. Walmsley, Timothy G. & Walmsley, Michael R.W. & Varbanov, Petar S. & Klemeš, Jiří J., 2018. "Energy Ratio analysis and accounting for renewable and non-renewable electricity generation: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 328-345.
    13. Jonathan Dumas & Antoine Dubois & Paolo Thiran & Pierre Jacques & Francesco Contino & Bertrand Cornélusse & Gauthier Limpens, 2022. "The Energy Return on Investment of Whole-Energy Systems: Application to Belgium," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 1-34, December.
    14. Archer, Sophie A. & Murphy, Richard J. & Steinberger-Wilckens, Robert, 2018. "Methodological analysis of palm oil biodiesel life cycle studies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 694-704.
    15. David J. Murphy & Marco Raugei & Michael Carbajales-Dale & Brenda Rubio Estrada, 2022. "Energy Return on Investment of Major Energy Carriers: Review and Harmonization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-20, June.
    16. Valerii Havrysh & Antonina Kalinichenko & Edyta Szafranek & Vasyl Hruban, 2022. "Agricultural Land: Crop Production or Photovoltaic Power Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, April.
    17. Hongshuo Yan & Lianyong Feng & Jianliang Wang & Yuanying Chi & Yue Ma, 2021. "A Comprehensive Net Energy Analysis and Outlook of Energy System in China," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 6(4), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Jackson, Andrew & Jackson, Tim, 2021. "Modelling energy transition risk: The impact of declining energy return on investment (EROI)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    19. Charles A. S. Hall, 2022. "The 50th Anniversary of The Limits to Growth : Does It Have Relevance for Today’s Energy Issues?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-13, July.
    20. Raugei, Marco & Sgouridis, Sgouris & Murphy, David & Fthenakis, Vasilis & Frischknecht, Rolf & Breyer, Christian & Bardi, Ugo & Barnhart, Charles & Buckley, Alastair & Carbajales-Dale, Michael & Csala, 2017. "Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI) for photovoltaic solar systems in regions of moderate insolation: A comprehensive response," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 377-384.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    palm oil; biofuel; EROI; Indonesia; Indonesian B30 program; renewable energy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B30 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:10:p:2803-:d:554208. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.