Challenges for geothermal development in

Aceh Province, Indonesia; a place where

disasters, political, and environmental issues

meet.Nazli Ismail

Department of Physics/Geophysics

Syiah Kuala University

Banda Aceh - Indonesia

Geothermal Energy Development for a Green Economy

Asian Workshop on Geothermal Energy

Hanoi, 13 – 14 November 2017

International Technology Collaboration Programme of the IEA and Vietnam

Institute of Geosciences and Minerals Resources (VIGMR)

Aceh Province

Located at the northern tip of Sumatra.

Close to the Andaman and Nicobar

Capital city: Banda Aceh.

Area: 57,365 km2

Population ~ 4 million

Geothermal Potential in Aceh

1. boih (25 MW)

2. Lhok Pria Laot (50 MW)

3. Jaboi (50 MW)

4. Ie Suum (63 MW)

5. Seulawah Agam (165 MW)

6. Alur Canang (25 MW)

7. Alue Long Bengga (100 MW)

8. Tangse (25 MW)

9.Rimba Raya (100 MW)

10. Geureudong (120 MW)

11. Simpang Balik (100 MW)

12. Silih Nara (100 MW)

13.Meranti (25

MW)

14.Brawang

Buaya (25

MW)

15. Kafi (25 MW)

16. Gunung Kembar (92 MW)

17. Dolok Perkirapan (25 MW)

Total: 1.115 MWe 625 275 215

Reserves Speculative Hypotethical Probable

Timeline of geothermal development

1972

Reconnaissance Jaboi Geothermal Area

1983-1984

Surface manifestation and geoelectrical survey

2005-2006

geochemical,

geomagnetic, gravity, resistivity and geoelectricalmapping, two shallow drilling temperature

2017

Started drilling, the project plans of 10-15 MW

Sabang Geothermal Energy

Geothermal development in Weh

Island takes more than 40 years,

exceeding the period of the Free

Aceh Movement (GAM) conflict

which started since 1974 to 2005

Conflict of Aceh

Aceh was the third richness province in Indonesia with

oil and gas resources in the past.

On the other most people live in poverty that caused

them feelings of unequal treatment by the central

government.

The prolonged social and economic imbalances have

trigered the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in 1974.

This struggle between Government of Indonesia and

GAM continued until 2005.

The vertical conflict is one of the reasons for the slow

development of geothermal in Aceh

Conflict and Its Impact on Development

The conflict between GAM and GOI had different

stages.

The first stage had no significant impact in Aceh, and

GAM held little political or military clout.

The resurgence of conflict in 1989 saw a better

trained and armed GAM.

In response, the government transformed Aceh into a

military zone. This change resulted in the deployment

of a sizable contingent of military and police forces.

This phase was the most destructive of all.

These forces remained in the province until their pull-

out in late 2005 as a result of the MoU.

Conflict and Its Impact on Development ...

Many experts and observers of Aceh agree that the

conflict was driven mainly by two issues:

difficult center-periphery relations between Jakarta and

Aceh; and

a sense of exclusion or exploitation in Aceh in the

enjoyment of benefits of its natural resources.

Peace agreement and its impact

The 2005 Helsinki memorandum of understanding was the

latest attempt to end this 30-year conflict.

It offers great opportunity for Acehnese to improve their

communities’ economic performance, attain better living

standards, and move toward a good governance system.

The central government also agreed to provide Aceh with a

larger share of revenue from natural resources and special

allocation from General Allocation Fund.

Right to set interest rates different from those set by the

Central Bank of Indonesia Right to retain 70 percent of

revenue from oil and gas, hydrocarbon, and other natural

resources

Joint management of oil and gas resources between the

province and central government, and transparency in

revenue-sharing allocation

Seulawah Agam Geothermal Field

Seulawah Agam Geothermal field is located in Aceh

Besar Regency (about 60 km from Banda Aceh to the

east).

Seulawah Agam area was the first area to get the

attention of the new government.

Aceh and Pertamina sign a joint venture agreement

on Seulawah geothermal project.

Aceh through the Aceh Regional Development

Company and PT Pertamina through its subsidiary PT

Pertamina Geothermal Energy, form PT Geothermal

Energy Seulawah (GES) to develop a geothermal

power plant in Seulawah.

Seulawah Agam Geothermal Field ...

The project has been on the drawing board for six

years.

It is expected now that this project can be completed

within 3.5 years or a maximum of 4 years, and

thereby help with the ongoing electricity crisis in Aceh.

The peak load of electricity demand in Aceh is around

325 megawatts (MW), so to serve the needs well,

ideally PLN has 50 percent energy reserves of that

need, or about 500 MW, but in reality, currently only

340 MW.

Seulawah Agam Geothermal Field ...

This geothermal project has actually been initiated the first

time in 2008.

The idea was well received by the German Government,

which in 2009 was willing to grant funds of $10 million.

Under conservative estimates, the potential is expected to be

up to 165 MW.

For the initial phase of the development, Pertamina and Aceh

Regional Development Company are planning with the

development of 55 MW.

Meanwhile, earlier this year a grant worth €7.72 million from

German development bank KfW Germany for the construction

of the Seulawah geothermal plant in Aceh was cancelled as

the soft loan was considered to have a too high interest rate

(at 4 percent).

Geothermal Energy Devopment and

Environmental Issues

Although the two former geotermal fields, Seulawah Agam

dan Jaboi, are still not able to be developped, the

government is also actively seeking new geothermal

potential areas.

Three of the areas are located in Mount Leuser National

Park.

Mount Leuser National Park is part of the wider Leuser

Ecosystem, a nationally protected area constituting one of

Southeast Asia’s last great swaths of intact rainforest.

But the Aceh government’s 2013 spatial plan makes no

mention of Leuser, and local officials have argued that the

province has a right to develop the area.

Gunung Leuser National Park

Gunung Leuser National

Park is a national park

covering 7,927 km2 in

northern Sumatra,

straddling the border of

North Sumatra and Aceh

provinces.

The national park, settled in

the Barisan mountain range,

is named after Mount

Leuser (3,119 m), and

protects a wide range of

ecosystems.

Gunung Leuser National Park ...

Gunung Leuser National

Park is one of the two

remaining habitats for

Sumatran orangutans

(Pongo abelii).

Other mammals found in the

park are the Sumatran

elephant, Sumatran tiger,

Sumatran rhinoceros,

siamang, Sumatran serow,

sambar deer and leopard

cat

Gunung Leuser National Park ...

These creatures may have to make way for a new

addition to their habitat - geothermal energy - a

prospect that has conservationists wringing their

hands.

The plan targets a core zone of the 800,000-hectare

Leuser National Park - a UNESCO World Heritage

site at the heart of the 2.8 million-hectare ecosystem.

The government is already embroiled in a class-action

lawsuit against a pending 2013 provincial spatial plan

that seeks to leave Leuser open for development — a

clear violation of national-level protections.

Gunung Leuser National Park ...

The plan was against by many environment NGO’s.

This action is also supported by the new elected governor

whom some called Aceh’s “green governor”.

During the conflict, the historical logging and palm-oil

concessions had been abandoned, the forests were actually

regenerating quite healthfully, after the tsunami and the peace

accords, trees started falling again.

Jaboi Geothermal Field

The most progress gethermal energi development in Aceh is

Jaboi Geothermal field.

The geothermal project at Jaboi by Sabang Geothermal

Energy has already started drilling.

The project plans with a power generation potential of 10 to

15 MW.

If successful, the energy produced from the geothermal plant

of Jaboi could reach 80 MW in capacity.

However, the area is located in a small island at the north-

west of Sumatera with very low electricity consumption.

The government plan that surplus energy from Jaboi will be

supplied to PLN Banda Aceh via submarine cables, of this

statement is not as easy to say.

Geothermal energy and natural disasters

Aceh is prone area of many natural disasters.

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, some destructive

earthquakes along the Great Sumatran Fault and the

unfinished eruption of the Sinabung Volcanoe at the North

Sumatera Privince made the people psichologically sensitive

to the potential for disasters.

For example soon after the 2013 Takengon and Tangse and

the 2016 Pidie Jaya Earthquakes, people always associate

the earthquakes with volcanic eruption and geothermal

exploration.

It means that public understanding of the utilization of

geothermal energy is still very low. In one hand the goverment

need to develop the geothermal energy but in the other hand

goverment also need to put attention on educating people on

geothermal energy utilization.

Geothermal energy and natural disasters ...

TERIMAKASIH