Where is the local community?: Fieldwork Reflections on China’s Involvement in Indonesia’s Energy Transition at Cirata Floating Solar Power Plant

Visiting Ciroyom Hilir
Our first day started with a meeting with a local reporter who also served as our local facilitator. He explained how the government-led development of the reservoir, which began in the 1980s, has repeatedly displaced families and changed the community’s lives: “The people who are currently displaced in this area have also seen their parents, even their grandparents, displaced by the development of the reservoir”. Yet despite generations of upheaval, inclusion of the local community in Cirata’s development planning has remained minimal.

After the interview, he led us through rocky and narrow roads to see the Cirata reservoir. As soon as I saw the power plant, one question immediately surfaced: Where are the local communities? We were told that the area used to be bustling with local fisherman right around the evening as they prepare to catch pepetek fish throughout the night in their bagang, a traditional fishing spot. However, at the time of our visit, save for a few speedboats patrolling the power plant area, the reservoir was quiet with no fishermen in sight.

Our facilitator then led us to interview four fishermen and five housewives at the head of the fisherman community’s house. Through their stories, we could weave the bigger picture of how the power plant has created impacts that compound over time. For example, fishermen were told to move or dismantle their bagang to make way for the power plant, and those who resisted saw their catches decrease. One fisherman reported that their income dropped from IDR 300,000/night before the power plant's construction to only IDR 10,000/night. On the second day, during our boat trip, we saw the extent of the impact: where there were once thirty-six bagang, only nine remain.

Decreasing income is worsened by increasing expenses elsewhere – particularly health and electricity bills – to adapt to the secondary environmental impact of the power plant. Housewives shared how mounting stress has even fueled more frequent conflicts within families. Interestingly, when asked about China’s role, most villagers were unaware of the country’s involvement. They recalled seeing Chinese workers during construction but had little interaction with them due to language barriers and segregated work arrangements.

Reflection and areas of interest moving forward
Three points regarding Indonesia’s energy transition process stood out to me after my visit to Ciroyom Hilir. First, for Indonesia’s energy transition to be inclusive, local community’s participation is essential. The construction of PLTS Cirata still reflects a troublesome pattern of energy transition in Indonesia, one that relies on the creation of mega-infrastructures, which too often bypasses community involvement in its development process. Without the community’s participation, considerations of the community’s needs, projections on potential loss and damage, as well as the cost calculation of the community’s adaptation to the power plant are invisibilized. In the long run, communities with the least resources are the ones that have to shoulder the burden of the energy transition process. Second, participatory decision-making processes also need to consider context-specific barriers to participation. For example, in Ciroyom Hilir, the history of continuous displacements backed by state-sponsored control of the project leads to hesitation and fear among the local community in voicing their concerns. Finally, the local community’s limited knowledge of China in the energy transition suggests an opportunity. Unlocking this opportunity could start by asking how China can help usher in a just energy transition that takes into account the local community’s needs.

Overall, the fieldwork in Ciroyom Hilir reveals a critical puzzle piece: the success of the energy transition process should not be measured solely by the megawatts generated or hectares covered, but also by its inclusivity towards the local community. I am excited to continue collecting and assembling the puzzle pieces to reveal the bigger picture of China’s involvement in Indonesia’s energy transition as the SGAIN project progresses!