The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for social distancing and improved sanitation to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. In the waste management sector, protecting the safety and health of waste collection labourer has become a priority. In Japan, the labour shortage problem and ageing demography have intensified the need for contactless waste collection technology. This study responds to this need by reviewing the global practice of smart waste collection technologies and observing the situation of the Japanese waste collection system through participant observation. Based on the identified trends and status, the authors developed a contactless waste collection system and tested it on an actual working site. The demonstration showed that the system could safely lift a 700 L waste container containing 212 kg of waste to the collection truck without human contact. Labourers can be reduced from 2 to 1 person to operate the collection truck. This study also discovered the smart bin's potential to motivate the reduction of packaging waste consumption.

In Japan, mechanical plastic recycling has been widely practiced. In recent years, the chemical recycling method has been gaining interest, especially due to its high-quality products similar to virgin materials. Understanding the environmental impact of both methods from the energy consumption standpoint is crucial so that attempts to preserve plastic resources can be based in the most energy-sustainable way. This research aims to determine the environmental impact of mechanical recycling and two types of chemical recycling technologies (coke oven and gasification) by analyzing their energy usage and environmental loads. The results relating to the electricity consumption and water usage show that mechanical recycling results in a 17% share of global warming potential (GWP), coke oven 51%, and gasification 32%. Although mechanical recycling results in a lower GWP, chemical recycling yields highly valuable products and byproducts that can be reused in its processes, such as steam and industrial water, reducing the overall environmental load. These recovered materials are also potentially useful for other industrial processes in an industrial symbiosis ecosystem.

The mobility sector is experiencing a global transition towards cleaner and more sustainable technologies. Many mobility projects are developing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to improve the operational efficiency of mobility, such as charging system optimization for electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous driving, and traffic controls. This study presents such projects’ global distribution by showing a geographic information system (GIS)-generated map and analyzes the readiness level of those technologies by employing the Japanese Technology Readiness Assessment (J-TRA) methodology. The results show that most projects are located in Europe. Among the analyzed AI uses, the smart parking system and lane tracing assistance technologies have the highest level of readiness. Further training of AI to be fully compatible with the real operating environments and updates of traffic policies are necessary to allow advancement of the technology readiness of the rest of AI mobility technologies types.

Pursuing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 7, to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all,” many off-grid villages received solar panels from external supports. However, these communities rarely have the capacity for reinvestment when the battery deteriorates. This study proposes reusing the abandoned solar panels as a power supply for cellphone charging stations and signal boosters. Taking an off-grid agricultural village in Indonesia as a case study, a cost–benefit analysis (CBA), net present value (NPV), and payback time estimation were conducted to determine the financial feasibility of the proposed strategy. The results identified that paired with an existing business, a four months payback time can be achieved under a standard scenario. Moreover, solar panels’ end-of-life poses an environmental burden. A sustainable use that can take full advantage of the technology's lifespan should be considered when donating technologies to the bottom billions.

The transportation sector is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is estimated that replacing fossil fuel-based vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs) powered by sustainable and renewable energy could contribute to approximately 21% of emission avoidance by 2050. To improve the efficiency of EV operation, various artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have been applied. Examples include charging system optimization, self-driving car technology, and traffic control technology. To understand the current readiness status of those technologies applications, a small database of AI use in EVs that is in practice globally is constructed. There are 23 locations of prototype projects identified. The projects are categorized by the AI type, developer type, size of operation, and readiness status. Readiness status is analysed with the Japan Technology Readiness Assessment (J-TRA) methodology. There are seven analysed parameters: 1) Market, 2) Technology development, 3) System Integration, 4) Sustainability Verification, 5) Safety, 6) Commercialization and 7) Cost and Risk. The results show that while there is a promising market, steady progress in technological development, and verified environmental benefits, more work is needed to ensure safety and integration with the current systems before the technology can reach higher readiness levels of commercialization, cost, and risk-coping mechanisms.

Access to clean energy for communities living in remote areas where grid extension is considered unfeasible can be provided by off-grid electrification systems using renewable energy (RE). Especially in developing countries, ensuring the appropriateness of such systems is crucial because it will determine the system's sustainability despite its limited resources. This study demonstrates the design process of an appropriate system by assessing the potential of three RE sources: solar, wind, and biomass in an oil palm and rubber-tree plantation village in South Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. A social assessment is done to avoid sustainability issues of the previously introduced technology intervention by identifying correlations between residents' attributes and satisfaction levels on a selection of social values through multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and nonparametric methods. The techno-economic assessment and sensitivity analysis uses local data processed with the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software. Results identified the need for a more appropriate clean energy supply for cooking, the potential role of modern technology, and access to information and communication in income generation, among other needs and opportunities that can be linked with the energy system design. The technical assessment showed that a centralized solar power plant paired with a diesel engine could provide power to the village. However, the cost of electricity (COE) is much higher than the price cap introduced by the national electricity company. This study urges a clear mechanism and a guarantee for the delivery of feed-in-tariffs (FIT) and a price cap exemption for off-grid RE systems. Furthermore, a people-centered public–private partnership business model and a remote capacity-building intervention are also needed. An appropriate energy system design must be supported by an enabling environment and supporting policies to be feasible.

Electric vehicles can be a solution to certain social problems in Indonesia, such as pollution and an increase in consumption of energy from fossil fuels, which cannot be met by domestic production. The discussion of the TPB theoretical model, UTAUT2, and risk perception, using the structural equation modeling (SEM) method, in this study aims to provide an overview of the factors that drive interest in adopting electric vehicles in Indonesia. Data were collected from 526 respondents in various cities located in Indonesia. The results showed that the model can estimate the study variables adequately. The constructs of TPB such as attitude toward use (ATU), subjective norm (SBN), and perceived behavior control (PBC) positively affect interest in using electric vehicles. Meanwhile, ATU is influenced by performance and effort expectancies, hedonic motivation, price value, as well as functional, financial, and social risks. Another factor, known as PBC, is influenced by certain facilitating conditions. The ATU factor is the most influential on the use of electric vehicles, therefore factors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, price value, functional risk, financial risk, and social risk need to be properly analyzed.

As the automotive industry shifts from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs), many countries are setting new strategies in their transportation sector. The Li-ion battery is currently the most common battery used in EVs due to its high energy density, durability, safety, and cost competitiveness. Nickel is predicted to be an essential component for the lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NMC) as a cathode material of choice for EV applications. Indonesia, one of the world’s largest nickel ore suppliers, put an export ban on nickel ore effective from 2020. The bold movement was intended to initiate the domestic EV industry and encourage investors abroad to drive their manufacturing activities into the country. On the other hand, the global Li-ion battery manufacturers who imported nickel from Indonesia had to restrategize their businesses. This review discussed the chronological events leading to the ban and after the ban from the media, government regulations, and literature reviews. The authors of this study also conducted interviews and attended seminars with the national experts and key players in the battery and EV industry to gain their most pertinent insights. The SWOT analysis of the reviewed materials indicated that while the Indonesian battery industry is still new, it needs to diversify its research and development activities and collaborate internationally to optimize the utilization of its resources and meet the purchasing power of the domestic EV market. Finally, this study summarized six key factors to support Indonesia’s ambition to be a new regional hub for EVs. These factors are: (1) pricing, (2) technology, (3) policy, (4) investment, (5) infrastructure, and (6) compliance with sustainability standards.

In Japan, breakthroughs to improve the share of renewable energy in the energy mix have become an urgent issue. However, the problem could not be solved by simply adding more power plants for various technical reasons, such as the unsuitability of using renewable energy as baseloads due to its intermittency. Furthermore, establishing the required cooperative systems for regionally distributed power adjustment is also tricky. Based on these backgrounds, this paper constructs an operation plan that minimizes CO2 emissions by correcting the generation and load patterns of the renewable energy of solar power, utilizing power generation from waste as a substitute for baseload power, and estimating the power demand of each facility. The result shows that by adjusting the operation plans, the model can reduce CO2 emission by 20.95 and 8.30% in weeks with high and low solar power generation surpluses, respectively. Furthermore, these results show that it is possible to reduce CO2 emissions in regions that have power sources with low CO2 emission coefficients by forecasting the amount of power generation and power load in the region and appropriately planning the operation in advance.

As a net oil importer since 2004, Indonesia’s success in developing fuel economy and infrastructure for electric vehicles would be vital to ensuring energy security and decarbonization from the transport sector. Following the Presidential Regulation on the Acceleration Program for battery-based EV for Road Transportation in 2019, the Indonesian government provides incentives for the domestic production of EVs. However, as EV technology is relatively new for the domestic automotive industry in Indonesia, it needs to go through stages of development to achieve full readiness in society. This study analyses the key stakeholders’ perceptions of EV industries using the Japanese technology readiness assessment (J-TRA) to better understand the current readiness level of EVs in Indonesia. Primary data are collected through interviews with an EV start-up company, experts in the EV field, government officials in charge of the national EV projects, and EV end-users. Extensive literature related to success stories of EV adoption in other countries was conducted as the basis for this study. The results showed that key stakeholders agree that EV technology has reached a high readiness level in technology development. Most of the stakeholders voted that the readiness bottleneck is commercialization, safety, and integration parameters. Furthermore, an elaborate policy recommendation gathered from both literature reviews and interviews with related stakeholders is presented.

Electric Vehicle (EV) is a promising technology that can drive the use of Renewable Energy (RE) in the mobility sector. With the fast economic growth and rapid urbanization, it is expected that more people will purchase personal vehicles in Indonesia. Even in the scenario where more people are gradually taking the more convenient public transportation and better infrastructure of mass mobility, the EV can significantly reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emission when the energy supply eventually shifts to higher RE in the energy mix. On the other hand, EV is a relatively new technology, and its diffusion on the broader market needs to go through several stages of development to achieve full readiness in society. Therefore, observing the EV development status is essential to identify and respond to the bottleneck of EV diffusion in Indonesia. This study exercised the Japanese technology readiness assessment (J-TRA) methodology based on an interview with an EV startup company to reveal the readiness level in Indonesia.

In this study, we proposed improvements based on actual measured data of a hybrid heat supply system that uses solar heat and ground heat as the heat sources of a restaurants complex in Honjo city, Saitama, Japan. Our evaluation from the actual monitoring measurements showed that the solar heat collection efficiency was 50–60%. The geothermal Heat Pump’s Coefficient of Performance decreased significantly in the summer. We propose to set the heat insulation and burial depth of the piping from the ground heat collection to the heat pump and recommends five units of 5 units of solar heat collectors as the most ideal scenario.

We compared the readiness levels of Japan supported biomass energy conversion technology development projects in emerging Southeast Asia measured with two different methodologies; (1) levels as stated by the project fund provider, and (2) Technology Readiness Assessment (J-TRA) method. Results show that while the first method could tell the general idea about a technology development progress, the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of J-TRA is better at indicating the project bottlenecks.

In this paper, we attempt to calculate an estimate of the energy system demand in Thae Kone village, located in an off-grid area in Myanmar. Based on the results of the calculation, we introduce a renewable energy plan that is appropriately tailored to local needs. Furthermore, through a literature review on decentralized energy systems, the paper discusses their self-dependence from social acceptance and the perspective of clarifying their roles as operating entities. We conclude that a project model that is community-driven and closely partnered with private enterprises shows great potential as a vision for independent and decentralized energy systems in the future.

Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world has pledged to "leaving no one behind". Responding to goal No. 7 on the agenda, efforts to provide modern energy to all the world population must be pushed forward. This is important because electrification in the rural area can indirectly support opportunities for social and economic development resulting in an acceleration of the eradication of poverty. The research goal of this study is to contribute insights about the scale of energy demand in unelectrified villages in the Southeast Asian countries and to discuss some factors that might influence the energy demand growth. This is done by making projections based on surveys and interviews, including a time-use survey, in three off-grid villages located in Myanmar, Indonesia, and Laos. Our analysis presented the living condition, highlight the types of energy sources, how, and in what rhythms people use energy on a daily basis in those villages. The demands in each case study villages were then projected based on several constructed scenarios. It was found that the factors of household size, proximity to the city, climate, and topography may influence the present and future growth of energy demands in the villages. The estimated energy demand may be useful for project managers to design a pilot off-grid energy system project in a similar environment and pointed out important factors to consider when formulating off-grid energy policies in the region.

Many agricultural waste residues are generated in Southeast Asia while some areas in the region still do not have electricity. This study explores the potential effective utilization of agricultural residues in Southeast Asia to generate power. Firstly, visualization of the potential for energy generation was completed using a geographic information system (GIS). Secondly, a comparison of effectiveness was completed between the torrefaction and hydrothermal treatment of low-grade agricultural residues as pretreatment techniques for the modification of agricultural residues. In this study, the feasibility of utilizing rice residues was analyzed (i.e., rice husks, which are produced in large quantities in Southeast Asia) to determine their suitability for pretreatment as feedstock for power plants. This was assessed experimentally by focusing on the pyrolytic characteristics of the husks and the rate of ash change both before and after treatment, while the subsequent implications on transportation costs were also noted. The results indicated that the percentage of ash in torrefied rice husks was 26.7%, whereas the percentages of ash in rice husks that were treated with water or an NaOH solution were 13.96% and 8.87%, respectively. The reduction in transportation costs after compression was 90.8% for hydrothermal treatment and 88.7% for torrefaction.

Forests cover two-thirds of Japan’s land area, and woody biomass is attracting attention as one of the most promising renewable energy sources in the country. The Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Act came into effect in 2012, and since then, woody biomass power generation has spread rapidly. Gasification power generation, which can generate electricity on a relatively small scale, has attracted a lot of attention. However, the technical issues of this technology remain poorly defined. This paper aims to clarify the problems of woody biomass gasification power generation in Japan, specifically on the challenges of improving energy utilization rate, the problem of controlling the moisture content, and the different performance of power generation facilities that uses different tree species. We also describe the technological development of a 2 MW updraft reactor for gasification and bio-oil coproduction to improve the energy utilization rate. The lower heating value of bio-oil, which was obtained in the experiment, was found to be about 70% of A-fuel oil. Among the results, the importance of controlling the moisture content of wood chips is identified from the measurement evaluation of a 0.36 MW-scale downdraft gasifier’s actual operation. We discuss the effects of tree species variation and ash on gasification power generation based on the results of pyrolysis analysis, industry analysis for each tree species. These results indicate the necessity of building a system specifically suited to Japan’s climate and forestry industry to allow woody biomass gasification power generation to become widespread in Japan.

In Southeast Asia, where the population and economy are growing rapidly, active efforts to utilize the biomass energy are taking place. In particular, there are high untapped energy potentials from the agricultural biomass and its residues. In order to promote effective development and use of biomass energy conversion technologies, it is essential to evaluate their level of readiness status objectively. In this study, we created a database of energy conversion technologies for agricultural biomass in international projects of the Japanese companies and organizations and evaluated them by using the TRA (Technology Maturity Assessment), GIS mapping and LCCO₂ methodologies. Specifically, we presented an evaluation case study focusing on Indonesia and proposed a dissemination strategy based on the evaluation.

Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all is the goal number 7 within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While most of the countries in the Southeast Asian region aim for universal electrification within 2020 to 2030, it is predicted that a couple of millions of the population will not have access to electricity by then due to various reasons. Among them are challenging geographical terrain and the low population density in rural areas. In this study, we analyzed the current situation of the population living in the off-grid area through field surveys, estimated their energy demand, and projected the future growth of energy demand. As case studies, we selected three communities in Myanmar, Indonesia, and Laos. Also, we proposed a strategy to appropriately introduce renewable energy in the communities based on our analysis and observation.

We evaluated the feasibility of waste-generated heat using a 100-kW digestion gas engine at the Karatsu City Water Purification Center by evaluating its disaster resilience through four indicators. We achieved the best outcome, i.e., a power generation rate of 1,122 kW and a power self-sufficiency rate of 22% when two or more digestion gas engines were installed to supply waste-generated heat to the absorption chiller/heater of a water-pool. Additionally, we evaluated the environmental and economic aspects of a Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) system installed in Karatsu City. The results suggested that by installing an MBT system, the annual cost could be reduced by ∼100 million Yen and the power generation capacity could be increased to 4,310 kW; this could also help reduce 19,000 tons of annual CO2 emissions with increased power generation. The environmental and economic feasibility assessment tool developed here is configurable; hence, applicable to other regions.

Copyright © 2020 by the authors. Biomass is a promising energy resource for the Southeast Asian countries. There are currently many biomass related technology development projects taking place in the emerging countries of the region (Thailand, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Myanmar, Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos). In this paper, we investigate the critical characteristics of Japan-supported biomass energy technology development projects in those countries, specifically on; technology type, biomass feedstock type, the technology's readiness, and the geographical location. Information about the projects was collected from major Japanese organizations and Japanese private companies' websites. The results highlight the trends and direction of biomass energy conversion technology development in the region. Among them are the following: 1) Biorefinery is the most popular technology used in the development projects mainly in Thailand, 2) Boiler, Turbine, Generator (BTG) projects exist in all countries discussed in this study, 3) Agricultural residue from rice plantation and Oil Palm are the two most popular type of feedstocks used in the projects, 4) Most of the projects’ are still in “feasibility study” and “pilot demonstration” readiness levels.

© 2019 by the authors. Due to its ability to recover both material and energy from organic waste, biogas technology is considered one of the best technology for treating organic waste. While in many emerging Asian countries more than 50% of municipal waste is organic waste, the amount of organic waste treated with biogas technology remains very limited. This study identified key challenges faced by practitioners in sustaining biogas plants from literature and interviewed a number of sustainably operating biogas plant managers and, based on the findings, developed an implementation framework to help decision makers and practitioners in planning a sustainable municipal organic waste biogas plant facility.

In response to Japan’s increase on coal dependence, co-firing of woody biomass in a coal power plant has been considered as the most feasible sustainable alternative. We propose torrefaction as an effective method to improve the quality of biomass fuel. To measure how much CO₂ can be avoided by utilizing torrefied fuel, Life Cycle CO₂ (LCCO₂) of woody biomass co-firing in the Japanese coal power plant was conducted in this study. As a comparative analysis in the LCCO₂, scenarios constructed included the use of woody biomass in the form of chip, pellet, and torrefied fuel. Due to the unavailability of large quantity domestic feedstocks in Japan, Indonesia was chosen as the origin of the imported woody biomass in the simulated scenarios. The results showed that significant CO₂ reduction could be achieved especially in the co-firing that includes torrefied fuel. In the case where 30cal% of torrefied fuel or 5cal% of pellets were used for co-firing in a 50 MW capacity coal power plant, 95,000 t of CO2 could be avoided annually compared to using 100% coal.

Meeting the global demand for palm oil poses great sustainability challenges. Indonesia is experiencing one of the largest oil palm expansions worldwide. Important socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the palm oil sector remain unsolved including conflicts over land tenure, loss of biodiversity, air pollution and emission of greenhouse gases. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a multi-stakeholder alliance promoting best practices along palm oil supply chains. However, the RSPO's potential to truly enhance the sustainability of palm oil production and consumption has been questioned. The different stakeholder groups that comprise the RSPO often hold different agendas and perspectives, posing a barrier for enhancing the sustainability of the sector. Moreover, RSPO stakeholders' perceptions may not be necessarily attuned to local realities and sensibilities in Indonesia. This paper, (a) provides a rapid appraisal of the perceptions on the barriers for improving palm oil sustainability as held by the main RSPO stakeholder groups and (b) contrasts them with the views of local communities in oil palm expansion areas. Our results suggest that RSPO stakeholders' perceptions about enhancing palm oil sustainability are overall highly divergent. However there seemed to be an underlying common optimism among some RSPO stakeholders and local communities about the feasibility of a technical fix. Understanding RSPO stakeholders' perceptions can enrich the current debate about the sustainable production and consumption of palm oil that is usually informed by rigorous yet highly compartmentalized research.

In this paper, we examine the effect of non-policy factors, such as temperature and slope, on the diffusion of Electric Vehicle (EV) by conducting multiple regression analysis. Using an air conditioner and steep slope, for example, increase electricity consumption and decrease the cruising range of EV, which is one of the key factors of the EV diffusion. Therefore, we alternately used some indicators representing temperature and angle of slope as explanatory variable to investigate that effect on the diffusion of EV. The multiple regression analysis result shows that low temperature hinders the EV diffusion and does not show that angle of slope statistically have an effect on it. Thus, we confirmed that it was significant to consider the effect of temperature on the EV diffusion, for example, when policy makers try to introduce a subsidy.

There is a widespread interest in converting organic waste into compost fertilizer to extend the life of landfills, create economic and environmental benefits, and ultimately reduce the pressure on local governments in managing the ever-increasing complexity of municipal solid waste. However, composting is still seldom considered as a strategic element. There is also very little evidence available of its economic feasibility. This study, therefore, aims to analyze key factors that influence the economic feasibility of municipal composting plant and identify a range of plant capacity or scale where a composting project could have higher opportunity to be financially sustainable. A cost–benefit analysis (CBA) was carried out using the data gathered from five composting plants in Asia, including Surabaya, Bali and Bekasi in Indonesia, Beijing in China, and Matale in Sri Lanka. The results identified that the medium-scale and lower large-scale composting plants have an optimal opportunity for being financially feasible as compared with the smaller and larger capacity plants. The study also identified that the economic viability of the composting plants depends on the number of factors, such as selection of suitable processing methods, technologies, scale, quality of product and marketing strategies. The advantages of the medium and lower large-scale composting plants are (1) waste input and product quality are easier to control than larger scale compost plants, and (2) there are extra income opportunities such as tipping fees and carbon credits that are limited in the case of small-scale composting plants. The scale of composting plant is one of the key factors to be considered at the initial stage of planning composting plants.

Natural resource scarcity and the effects of environmental destruction have pushed societies to use and reuse resources more efficiently. Waste should no longer be seen as a burden but rather as another source of material such as energy fuel. This study analyzes the potential of three waste management scenarios that include the combination of four waste management technologies - incineration with energy recovery, composting, anaerobic digestion, and sanitary landfill gas collection - as ways to recover energy and material from municipal solid waste. The study applies the environmental load point (ELP) method and utilizes municipal waste characteristics and composition from India, Indonesia, and China as case studies. The ELP methodology employs integrated weighting in the quantification process to get a one-unit result. This study particularly uses analytic hierarchical process questionnaires to get the weighting value of the nine impact categories: energy depletion, global warming, ozone depletion, resource consumption, ecosystem influence, water pollution, waste disposal, air pollution, and acid rain. The results show that the scenario which includes composting organic waste and sanitary landfill with gas collection for energy recovery has medium environmental impact and the highest practicability. The optimum material and energy potential is from the Chinese case study in which 254 tonnes of compost fertilizer and 60 MWh of electricity is the estimated output for every 1,000 tonnes of waste treated. © 2012 Pandyaswargo et al.
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