Rapid Environmental and Social Assessment of Geothermal Power Development in Conservation Forest Areas of Indonesia

Abstract

Geothermal energy is an important form of renewable energy, contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and related global warming. In Indonesia, however, the fact that the majority of geothermal potential is located in or close to forest areas has raised societal concerns about environmental and social impacts. In Indonesia, geothermal potential often occurs in mountainous forest areas that play an important role in supplying fresh water, harbor endangered wildlife, or have high cultural or religious values. This paper provides an innovative approach to assessing risk associated with potential and existing geothermal project locations in Indonesia. Through a micro-level assessment of 16 existing Indonesian geothermal projects, an improved insight into the key impacts and risks typically associated with geothermal power development in forest areas was developed. Key findings include that for each 100 MW of geothermal power generated per year, about 10 km of project roads and 30 ha of forest clearing is needed, while about 10 km2 of forest is indirectly impacted through the effects of road-facilitated hunting, illegal logging, use of fire, and other detrimental activities. Through a macro-level assessment of the officially published 330 geothermal area potential points for Indonesia, the environmental and social risk rankings for every individual point was determined. Each of these was characterized according to weighted environmental and social variables, including forest use status (conservation area type etc.); land cover; claims for social forestry; presence of indigenous people, traditional land claims, recent deforestation history; international biodiversity values (World Heritage site, Key Biodiversity Area, Important Bird Area); size of conservation area; and location of geothermal point in relation to conservation area boundary. Based on the cumulative weighted scores of these variables, they were categorized as Low, Medium, and High-risk sites. The resulting risk assessment provides a simple tool for the Government of Indonesia and other key stakeholders to guide geothermal power projects towards the areas with the least environmental costs and lowest likelihood of societal concerns about these costs. This tool also helps the government, banks, other finance institutions and geothermal energy companies to avoid material and reputational risks that can be associated with geothermal energy development in high-risk areas.