Kamojang, popularly known as Kawah Kamojang or (the Kamojang
crater), is a
geothermal field and tourist spot in
West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. The crater is located in sub-district (
''kecamatan'') Ibun in the
Bandung Regency, approximately 45 km to the southeast of
Bandung through the towns of Majalaya and Ibun. The crater can also be reached from the opposite direction through the town of
Garut
Garut is a district and town in West Java of Indonesia, and the former capital of Garut Regency. It is located about 75 km to the southeast of the major city of Bandung.
History
The modern history of Garut started on March 2, 1811 when Balub ...
, in
Garut Regency
Garut Regency is a Regency in the West Java province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 3,065.19 km2 (1,186.91 mi2). Geographically, it lies between 6°57′34″ – 7°44′57″ South latitude and 107°24′34&P ...
(the distance by road from Garut to the northwest through the township of Samarang is around 25 km).
The volcano that the crater is located on is
Mount Guntur but the crater itself is listed as an active volcano of Indonesia because of its geothermal activities.
Geothermal activities
There is a long history of interest in the possibility of developing the geothermal potential of the Kamojang region. The first geothermal wells in Indonesia were drilled at Kamojang in 1926 by the Dutch colonial government. The current geothermal field is on the slopes of Mt Guntur, about 7 km to the west of the peak of the mountain. There are four operating geothermal generating units with a capacity of 200 MW. The fourth unit began operation in January 2013. A fifth unit with a planned capacity of 35 MW was contracted in October 2013 with estimated construction completion by July 2015.
Kamojang is the site of the first modern geothermal site in Indonesia, commissioned by former
president Soeharto in January 1983. The 7 current units, with a capacity of 200 MW, are owned and operated by PT Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of the Indonesian state-owned electricity generating corporation, ''
Perusahaan Listrik Negara'' (PLN). The concession to the field is held by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy, a subsidiary of another of Indonesia's major state-owned companies, ''PT
Pertamina''.
Pertamina, PLN to jointly develop power plants'
, ''The Jakarta Post'', 11 August 2000.
See also
*List of volcanoes in Indonesia
The geography of Indonesia is dominated by volcanoes that are formed due to subduction zones between the Eurasian plate and the Indo-Australian plate. Some of the volcanoes are notable for their eruptions, for instance, Krakatoa for its globa ...
* Geothermal power in Indonesia
References
{{reflist
Volcanoes of West Java
Geothermal power stations in Indonesia
Volcanic craters
Stratovolcanoes of Indonesia
Pleistocene stratovolcanoes