PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – Bumitama Gunajaya Agro (BGA) continues to innovate across its business lines, in line with its commitment to sustainable practices. One such initiative is supporting clean energy by constructing a methane capture facility and implementing the co-firing method.
On September 6, 2024, BGA and Organics Bali broke ground on a methane capture project at PT Karya Makmur Bahagia (BGA Group) in Central Kalimantan Province. The project is expected to be operational by mid-2024 and aims to reduce carbon emissions from palm oil mill effluent (POME) by over 40,000 tons of CO2e annually—equivalent to the emissions absorbed by about 1,400 trembesi trees each year.
“In 2023, one of BGA’s methane capture facilities in Riau Province reduced the company’s overall emissions by 7%. BGA remains committed to its sustainability policy, targeting a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030,” said Rieza Rakhman, Head of Project Planning & Development at Bumitama Gunajaya Agro, in an official statement to Palmoilmagazine.com on Friday, September 27, 2024.
Also Read: Bumitama Engages Community Feedback through Forsimas
The co-firing method will replace biomass fuel with methane gas for the mill’s boilers. By utilizing an enclosed flare system, heat radiation and CO2 emissions will decrease, potentially generating carbon credits in the future. Additionally, this method will reduce costs and boost boiler productivity.
In 2024, BGA has constructing methane capture in three different places – two units in Central Kalimantan and one in West Kalimantan Province. Besides having the potential to increase the selling, the project would be about to deliver answers about the challenges to minimize GHG emission as it was regulated in Paris Agreement.
Prior, the subsidiary of BGA in Riau successfully took advantages on the gas from POME as the biogas power plant fuel to produce renewable electricity in the province. In the POME advantage scheme, BGA constructed methane capture to supply biogas powerplant Ujung Batu with 3 megawatt – capacity. (P2)
