Socioenvironmental Impacts of Biogas Systems in Indonesia: Life Cycle Analysis

Indonesia’s reliance on fossil fuel products has prompted the Government of Indonesia (GoI) to explore alternative energy sources to reduce oil and gas imports. Bioenergy, as a renewable energy source, is set to play a significant role in Indonesia’s energy mix by 2025. Biogas development, installed in households and companies, has shown promise since the reduction of kerosene subsidies in 2005. By 2021, 47,505 biogas digesters had been installed for domestic use. This research highlights the need for the GoI to learn from existing biogas systems to establish a robust framework for sustainable biogas development. This study systematically reviewed biogas utilization and its social and environmental impacts. All biogas from manure, palm oil waste, and solid waste have positive contribution to emission reduction. For manure, dairy farms with manure management systems (MMS) have lower emissions. Optimizing the production and use of biogas can avoid unnecessary losses and reduce GHG emissions. For palm oil waste, it reduced GWP by 42–44%. Combining recycling, composting, incineration, and landfill gas has the best environmental benefit for solid waste. As for social impacts, biogas development contributed to increasing communities’ income and health quality by eliminating indoor smoke. These indicators can be utilized for a monitoring framework on the social and environmental impact of biogas.