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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Elections & Politics

Central Java lawmakers call for review of Gunung Ungaran geothermal project

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Central Java lawmaker Muhammad Farchan called for a review of the planned Gunung Ungaran geothermal power plant amid community opposition.
  • Residents and officials fear damage to water sources, green areas, rare wildlife habitat, the landscape and the Gedong Songo cultural heritage site.
  • The proposed plant is projected to generate 55 megawatts, equal to an estimated 4% to 5% of Central Java’s renewable energy mix.

A Central Java lawmaker is pressing the central government to reconsider plans for a geothermal power plant on Gunung Ungaran, where residents fear the project could damage the environment and a major historic site.

This Gunung Ungaran geothermal project is reportedly under review. Yet while the review was being conducted, the permit recommendation had already been issued by the central government, namely the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

· Muhammad FarchanThe lawmaker questioned the sequence of the project’s review and licensing process.

Muhammad Farchan, a member of the Central Java Regional Council’s Commission B, said the licensing process raised questions. He noted that the project was reportedly still under review when the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry had already issued an authorization recommendation.

Farchan said the opposition had a strong basis because Gunung Ungaran serves as a source of drinking water, green land and habitat for rare animals. He singled out the endangered Javan hawk-eagle, known locally as the Garuda bird, and said the area required exceptional caution.

The flora and fauna on Gunung Ungaran are especially rich. There is the Javan hawk-eagle, or what people call the Garuda bird, which is nearly extinct. This requires extra caution.

· Muhammad FarchanHe explained why residents’ environmental concerns deserved serious consideration.

The concerns also center on Gedong Songo Temple, a cultural heritage structure associated with the ancient Mataram Kingdom and the Sanjaya Dynasty in the eighth and ninth centuries. Farchan, a former director of Semarang’s Tirta Moedal water company, said he understood the mountain’s importance as a raw-water source and warned that the project could significantly alter the landscape through access roads and damaged land.

Changing the landscape is no small matter. Once the project starts, it will certainly alter the landscape. Access roads will be built, land will be damaged and so on. There are potential tourist sites there as well.

· Muhammad FarchanHe warned about the possible effects of construction on the mountain’s landscape and tourism areas.

He stressed that he was not declaring the geothermal project wrong outright. Instead, he called for the government to carefully weigh its benefits and costs. The project has already faced broad public opposition, including online petitions that collected thousands of signatures. Its developers project a generating capacity of 55 megawatts, which could contribute an estimated 4% to 5% of Central Java’s renewable energy mix.

We are not saying that this project is wrong. But it needs to be calculated. These calculations are what the central government needs to carry out.

· Muhammad FarchanHe called for a detailed assessment of the project’s benefits and potential losses.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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