President Jokowi Wants Consistent Use of Biodiesel

A limited cabinet meeting on the acceleration of mandatory use of biodiesel led by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the Presidential Office in Jakarta (20/7) decided that Biodisel 20 (B20) be consistently implemented entirely. “The President wants that the use of B20 can be consistently implemented entirely because the impact will be significant for the efficiency of our foreign exchange reserves, and also to reduce oil imports,” said Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung to reporters after the meeting. For the record, Biodisel 20 is an alternative fuel made by mixing solar with biodiesel, which is produced from agricultural products. The amount of B shows the percentage of biodiesel, so Biodisel 20 is a combination of 20% biodiesel and 80% of solar. Pramono added that President Jokowi has also instructed Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister Industry, as well as other related ministers to implement Biodisel 100 (B20) in the near future. Previously in his introductory remarks at the meeting, President Jokowi stressed the importance of speeding up the use of biodiesel and renewable energy because not only will fossil energy that has so far been used will used up, but biodiesel use is also related to the improvement of the country’s balance of trade. “This is very important. We also hope to reduce oil import. It means we can implement foreign exchange reserve efficiency,” the President said, adding that if the use of biodiesel and renewable energy can be implemented, Indonesia can save around US$21 million per day. (Setkab.go.id)