15th WREC (World Renewable Energy Congress) took place at
the Jakarta International Convention Center in Indonesia on 19-23 September
alongside the Indonesia Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Summit 2016.
It was attended by 457 participants, comprising Indonesians and foreigners from
68 countries. As many as 122 scientific papers on renewable energy are
presented at the congress. Some of them are discussing energy-agriculture
nexus through bioenergy, geothermal and solar. Participants from Indonesia gained
knowledge and network about business, policy and technological developments in
the energy-agriculture sector, from from overseas businessmen and experts in
the congress.
Renewable energy interventions in an agriculture-food enterprise
include the introduction of renewable energy technologies or of energy
efficiency measures, which can result in improvement in energy intensity. Each
step of agriculture value chain presents different challenges to ensure that
the relevant energy services are provided efficiently, cost effectively and
minimizing the reliance on the fossil fuel market. Applying the value chain
approach, it becomes evident how the value of food products tend to increase as
more processing occurs and more inputs (energy, water, packaging materials) are
consumed. The energy interventions considered span from solar-power irrigation
systems to cooling and cold storage facilities, and from the use of residues
for energy production to geothermal energy for food processing. These concepts were
explored in the WREC.
