Java farmers vow to survive on their own as geothermal project flounders

PADARINCANG, Indonesia — On a hot June afternoon, residents of the Padarincang district gathered near a mountain lake to say a prayer. istighosahIslamic prayer combined with an indigenous context, here in the Indonesian province of Banten.

“We are not asking the government for anything,” Eha Suhaeni, a mother from Padarincang, told Mongabay Indonesia. “We want to live in peace: the important thing is that we are left alone.”

For 15 years, the community has opposed attempts to drill underground at the site, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.

“We were fast asleep when heavy machinery woke us up at 3:30 a.m.,” Eha recalls.

The purpose of the demonstration is not a mine or plantation. Instead, it is a form of renewable energy that emits virtually zero greenhouse gases and produces reliable, cheap electricity.

The Padarincang community has been opposing the construction of a 110-megawatt geothermal power station on the slopes of Mount Parakasak on Java island for more than 15 years.

Developer PT Sintesa Banten Geothermal began work in 2015, six years after Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources designated the area for renewable energy. But the company stopped work in 2018 after active community opposition.

The company is a subsidiary of Sintesa Group, a sprawling conglomerate founded by the late Indonesian oligarch Eka Tjipta Widjaja and now run by his granddaughter Shinta Widjaja Kamdani.

Steam punk

Indonesia’s 17,000 islands hold a wealth of untapped renewable energy, some estimates suggesting it’s nearly half the world’s. The potential could generate an estimated 29 gigawatts, enough to power 500 million homes.

Geothermal energy involves drilling a well and directing steam generated from the heat of the Earth’s crust into a turbine. This generates electricity with almost zero greenhouse gas emissions.

But the reality is more complicated due to project financing and environmental challenges. Exploring geothermal areas involves risky, expensive drilling that may not yield a profitable well, while most of the archipelago’s geothermal resources are located in protected forest areas.

Despite geothermal’s profile as a clean energy solution, early development in Indonesia was hampered by the currency crash triggered by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. The country’s grid’s bias toward cheaper tariffs for abundant coal-fired power and policy inertia have crippled the sector since then.

Despite some exceptions, progress in installing geothermal energy has remained slow over the past decade.

In 2017, the first unit of the massive 330-megawatt Sarulla facility in West Sumatra province went online with financial guarantees from the Asian Development Bank. Older facilities in West Java province, such as Wayang Windu, still draw their power from the Earth.

Dhoif, a leader in the Padarincang community, said the company had cleared about 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of forest on Mount Parakasak and also drilled more than one well.

Currently, the project is still abandoned and the road leading to the main facility is overgrown with tall bushes.

Slow cooking

Agriculture and forestry account for more than a third of Indonesia’s national income, but in Padarincang it is the soil that plays the most important role in the local economy.

People here grow fruits, grains and vegetables to ensure food security for their households and also treat it as their main source of income.

“If nature remains green, no one will starve,” said Eha, a mother from Padarincang.

People here are keen to point out that they are not opposed to development in principle, just to this particular project in their backyard. Some cite safety concerns.

In April, a pipe burst at the Sorik Marapi geothermal power plant in North Sumatra province released a cloud of hydrogen sulphide, a gas added to geothermal steam.

Geothermal accidents are rare. But this year, more than 20 people have been taken to hospital, many of them unconscious on stretchers.

Short-term exposure to hydrogen sulfide can cause relatively mild symptoms, but “higher concentrations can cause shock, convulsions, coma, and death,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Not a drill

The Padarincang community is supported by various civil society organisations, including national pressure groups: the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and the Mining Defence Network (Jatam).

Fanny Tri Jambore Christanto, head of Walhi’s mining and energy department, said the Padarincang project could threaten access to groundwater, which could result in disaster for the local community.

“Generally speaking, when there are changes in the landscape and groundwater levels are falling, that means there is a loss of water sources,” Christanto said.

“This is often the cause of conflicts with society,” he added.

Al Muktabar, the acting governor of Banten province, maintains that the project is still ongoing, although there is no clear timetable for its completion.

For Padarincang residents, the prospect of resuming construction work is a source of concern.

“We are vigilant,” said Dhoif, a community leader. “Heavy equipment has come several times and we have pushed it away.”

Dhoif said the Padarincang landscape remained fertile, with abundant groundwater. “We need to preserve it so that future generations can enjoy it,” he said.

On June 5, generations of Padarincang residents gathered agricultural produce to show prosperity and held aloft white banners.

“We will continue to defend our territory,” Dhoif said. “Protecting nature, which gives its blessings to the community.”

This story was brought to you by Mongabay Indonesia Here on our Indonesian side on June 19, 2024

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