@Jeanne Hachette...Thanks for reminding facts already known to me. I wonder using biofuel would somehow take off. Anyway, I remembered in the late 90's where a few old clunkers in the US using used cooking oil and exhumed french fries fumes into the air as one went by....

I remember that the Euro zone gave, at least in the 90's, quite substantial tax incentives to private car users who switched to (bio) diesel powered cars as a move to introduce not fossil fuel based gasoline. In the meantime the European market is saturated with at least 30 % of private cars powered by diesel engines (especially also small ones) and every car manufacturer offers a diesel alternative to their line of of cars.

In Indonesia though there is an extremely small market share for diesel powered cars, mostly only for larger multi purpose cars and SUV's, and then at a substantial higher purchase price as gasoline cars, apart of the truck market. There is not one single small city car, which are gaining for economic reasons popularity in Indonesia which offers a diesel alternative. I am not sure why, probably because Indonesian drivers prefer the 'wrooom..wroom' sensation on the, anyway stuffed, highways!

Bio Diesel itself is (it seems, at least for me as a Diesel car driver myself) only in the larger Jakarta Area available, maybe also in other part of Java Island, however in Sumatra, which has due to its mostly underdeveloped street infrastructure as much higher share of diesel cars, only regular diesel is available - at least on Pertamina stations along the major roads.

I am not a scientist to declare that bio-diesel powered cars are really better for the environment, maybe they are, articles as the one above and the move of Europe seems to suggest that (apart of the thought to be more independent to fossil fuel and the fluctuating market) but Indonesia simply doesn't has yet mindset of private consumers and the infrastructure to let this one work. Also there are recently voices declaring that the use of bio-fuel actually just moves the CO output into the environment from the exhaust of the final consumer to the production line (palm oil estates and the machinery involved) and that the actual CO output is actually higher than the consumption of fossil fuel. So, maybe all the PR in Europe to change to bio-diesel was nothing else than just a smart move to get more independent from fossil fuel and move the CO output to countries producing this bio-fuel (eg. Malaysia, Indonesia, Brasil). One never knows the chess moves of countries....

Dear jetset24, a few facts for you. Cooking with palm oil is not really good for your heart according to the last studies. Also when you cut and burn a forest for a palm oil plantation, you destroy the biodiversity , you fragilize the soil which become as fertile as a brick since all the mineral elements are getting washed away by the rain (and I think it rains quite a lot in Indonesia).

Quite a few reasons not to be a CPO addict even if we cannot deny the fact that the CPO business has improved the life of many famers who can now provide better education for their children.

I am not against progress, but I am just careful about the plane I generally fly

@Jeanne Hachette...Is this why the EU with the help of Green Peace want to undermine the Indonesian Palm oil production due to the environmental concerns when in fact BP (European/multinational ) has spilled oil in the gulf of Mexico due to safety negligence and provoked an environmental disaster out of proportion...and costing many Americans their livelihoods.

I am surprised that cars in Indonesia haven't been reduced to ashes using Pertamina Premium so far...Precisely the point should the technology is available why shouldn't an airline be the first to switch to Biofuel....

If the biofuel has the same quality as the Pertamina premium, we can expect a few crashes and some barbecue parties!