Government of Timor-Leste

Included in the renewable and alternative energies dynamization project in Timor-Leste, the Government has already an agro-energetic plan in course, or, in other words, the energy production from agricultural produce. This plan is divided into two components, the cultivation of oilseed plants and the installation of distilleries.

Just as for the other programs, for the agro-energetic system the benefitted community also has to establish a central cooperative that is financed by the State, with the purpose of instigating its modernization. “This measure allows civil society to become a registered agent that works in independent production, in cultivating the vegetable gardens and in produce distribution to the community”, explains the Secretary of State for Energy Police, Avelino Coelho.

The second component of the project – construction of distilleries – has also started, through the implementation of a pilot project. A distillery has been installed with a production capacity of around one thousand and five hundred litres of oil per day. What is now intended is to understand the possibility of introduction of this oil in cooking stoves running on biofuel, to proceed in the substitution of the petrol or fire stoves. But the biofuel still has other potentials. For example, it can be used to supply generators in rural areas, as an alternative to diesel, or to supply tractors and other vehicles.

The biofuel production was introduced in Timor-Leste, in 2008, with the creation of more than 150 hectares of plantations spread throughout our national territory. Already in 2011, the Secretariat of State for Energy Policy intends to improve the quality of the Metinaro centre and create two other centres, one in Ermera and another in Los Palos. These centres will serve three purposes: community training in the cultivation and cooperative areas, seeds production and distribution to the already established cooperatives and the development of investigation for the creation of quality seeds.

The Government intends to encourage the cultivation of other oilseed plants besides ‘jatropha’. “It is important to point out that we do not intend, with this project, to substitute rice and corn cultivation. We want a multiple cultivation. Between two oilseed plants, one can cultivate corn and cassava, modernizing Timorese cultivation practices”, concludes the Secretary of State Avelino Coelho”.