Biomass energy conversion is primarily aimed at the utilization of agricultural waste as it is generated in the vicinity of sugar and oil palm mills, as part of daily production activities, using mostly direct combustion technology. The primary objective would be to produce electricity and process steam or either steam or electricity only. This would avoid the utilization of diesel oil that is still commonly used in those mills. When situation permits, such as a sufficient amount of waste and distance to potential users of electricity, owners of the agricultural waste could generate electricity for sales.

YBULs biomass utilization is limited to biomass waste, primarily regularly produced waste, such as in the sugar mills, oil palm mills. YBUL is not involved in dendrothermal energy generation.

Under the sponsorship of the USAID, YBUL carried out a program called BEST to introduce the possibility of the utilization of agricultural waste for energy. The objective was to create a clean agricultural business and complex.

In cooperation with BRONZEOAK Ltd. from the UK, YBUL carried out a feasibility study in North Sumatra involving several oil palm companies to study the feasibility of utilizing the regularly generated solid waste to generate electricity. The study was completed, but the project was hampered by the financial crisis in 1997.

During the same cooperation in 2002, YBUL and BRONZEOAK Ltd. performed a survey on the availability of rice husk in the province of Lampung, Sumatra,  and Mataram, Nusa Tenggara Barat with the objective to establish rice husk fired power plants in the area. The project did not move forward due to the limitation of the budget.

In line with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), YBUL assisted PCI, a consulting company from Japan, to perform a feasibility study on the possibility of generating electricity from municipal waste at Sidoarjo, near Surabaya. The study was completed, but the project did not move forward due to a lack of capital investment available to the owner of the project.