Challenging situation on Bali geothermal development not without hope
A Sacred Journey from the Sea to the Mountains, Lake Beratan, Bedugul, Bali, Indonesia (source: flickr/ januartha, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
13 Sep 2016
There continues to be some hope on geothermal development in Bali, if one can find a way of dealing with concerns and opposition by locals.
Geothermal development in Bali, Indonesia has not seen any real movement in the past few years. A recent piece by CNN from Indonesia is looking at Bali and the problems in seeing development happening.
The Bedugul geothermal project in Bali has been developed by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) and Bali Energy Ltd, but things are still very unclear with various problems surrounding the project.
There has essentially been no work done since 2005. Actual activities around the project started in 1974, with the geothermal working area set up for Pertamina the same year.
But there has been local opposition for the project since 1997, due to the project site being in an area seen as sacred by locals.
An exploration permit was given for the project in 1996 for six wells to be drilled. Three wells have been drilled, but since then not much has happened.
There is now a difficult situation. With no utilisation of steam from the existing three wells any continuation of development would see locals react angrily.
If these wells are left alone, they could also constitute an environmental problem due to corrosion. There does not seem to be a solution to the dilemma, but clearly support by the local population is needed.
Director of PGE Irfan Zainuddin wants to continue the project utilising all three exploitation wells that can produce and move ahead with the development of a 10 MW geothermal power plant. So far the company has spent around $ 52 million for the three exploration and six shallow wells, as well as their maintenance.
There is though hope, as a lot of the opposition is likely rooted not in religious issues, but about who will be effected by development with regards to the division of land and compensation.
Source: CNN Indonesia
