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View of collapsed coal ash impoundment and closed power plant in North Carolina that caused the 2014 Dan river coal ash spill. Photo: U.S. environmental protection agency/Wikimedia Commons
The Indonesian government has declared coal ash is no longer a hazardous waste product, despite containing heavy metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic, in a nod to industry efforts for greater deregulation.
Fly ash and bottom ash from the burning of coal in power plants or other industrial facilities are now deemed inert or non-hazardous waste, under a new government regulation issued February 2. The regulation is a derivative of the so-called omnibus law on job creation a controversial package of deregulation measures passed by parliament last October that activists warned would serve the interests of the mining and “dirty energy” industry.
Never mind the mercury: Indonesia says coal ash isn’t hazardous
by Basten Gokkon on 11 March 2021
The Indonesian government has taken fly ash and bottom ash from coal burning out of its list of hazardous waste.
The distinction is crucial as the handling of “hazardous” waste is subject to different and far more stringent regulations than non-hazardous waste.
The delisting comes in response to lobbying efforts by industry groups, which want to be allowed to sell coal ash to the construction industry.
Indonesia is one of the world’s top coal producers, and the fossil fuel accounts for the majority of the country’s power generation.
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Golden Energy and Resources Ltd (GEAR), an international energy and resources company, has announced its full year results for the financial year ended 31 December 2020 (FY20).
Fuganto Widjaja, Executive Chairman of GEAR, said: “FY20 was a transformational year for GEAR, characterised by corporate actions which enabled the group to further diversify into metallurgical coal and gold. The strategic increase in stake of Stanmore Coal and acquisition of Ravenswood Gold evolved out of rational forecasts of long-term business prospects and their valuations in recent times when we had opportunities to invest. Last year was a turning point as we rode the peaks and troughs of the markets, realising investment gains and securing other strategic investments which put us in good stead for the long term.”
As world sours on coal, top producer Indonesia tries to sweeten it at home
by Nithin Coca on 28 December 2020
With international demand slowing, the government of Indonesia, a major coal producer and exporter, is looking to boost domestic demand for the fossil fuel.
The government has recently passed a series of regulations seen as favorable to the coal industry, and is also putting its support behind coal gasification plans.
State-owned coal miner PT Bukit Asam plans to have a coal gasification plant operational by 2024, while the country’s largest private coal miner, PT Bumi Resources, plans to invest more than $1 billion into a similar facility. U.S.-based Air Products also plans to invest $2 billion in a facility in Indonesia.