Jakarta, INTI - The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) has expressed support for West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi’s decision to temporarily halt the construction of BDx Data Centers’ artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Jatiluhur, Purwakarta Regency. IESR said a project of this scale, with significant water and electricity requirements, should not proceed before all environmental and building permits are secured and its potential impacts are made known to the public.

“We appreciate the firmness shown by the West Java Governor. Data center investment is an important part of Indonesia’s digital economic growth. However, development must respect the sustainability of water resources, electricity reliability, and the public’s right to access information,” said Fabby Tumiwa, Chief Executive Officer of IESR.

IESR said licensing requirements and impact assessments should be completed before construction begins so that economic development can progress alongside the protection of public interests.

BDx’s AI Campus 2 (CGK4) is planned with a capacity of 640 megawatts (MW) and is located approximately five kilometers from the Jatiluhur Reservoir. Groundbreaking took place on September 22, 2026. Six days later, following a surprise inspection by the governor on September 28, the West Java Provincial Government halted construction after finding that the Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL) and Building Construction Approval (PBG) had not yet been issued by the Purwakarta Regency Government.

The scale of the project calls for careful assessment. Water requirements during subsequent development phases are estimated to reach 384 liters per second, equivalent to approximately 33,000 cubic meters per day or more than 12 million cubic meters annually. The water would come from the Jatiluhur Reservoir, which plays a critical role in irrigating rice fields in West Java’s agricultural heartland.

Meanwhile, a 640 MW facility operating at full capacity throughout the year could consume up to approximately 5.6 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually.

IESR Calls for Comprehensive Environmental and Energy Assessments

IESR said the temporary suspension should be used to conduct comprehensive assessments rather than simply accelerate the licensing process. Before construction resumes, the organization called for a thorough environmental impact assessment and social-environmental analysis involving affected communities, including farmers who rely on Jatiluhur’s irrigation system. The assessment documents should also be made publicly accessible.

IESR also called for an assessment of the data center’s impact on the reliability of the Java-Madura-Bali electricity system, including reserve capacity, transmission and substation requirements, and the generation sources that would supply the facility. The findings should be disclosed to the public.

In addition, the organization urged authorities to assess the potential impact on PLN customers, including households, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and industrial users, particularly the risks of supply disruptions and who would bear the costs of strengthening the electricity network.

“A 640 MW facility requires electricity equivalent to the output of a large power plant. The public has the right to know where the electricity will come from, whether it will lead to additional coal consumption, and whether other PLN customers will bear the risks, either through supply disruptions or additional costs,” Fabby said.

The Jatiluhur case, according to IESR, highlights the lack of adequate regulations in Indonesia to address the growing wave of data center and AI investments. In May, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs estimated that Indonesia’s data center electricity demand could exceed 2 GW by 2029. PLN, meanwhile, has projected that data center electricity demand could reach 25 GW by 2035.

Without national standards, IESR said individual projects risk being assessed on a case-by-case basis, with oversight depending heavily on the initiatives of local governments.

IESR Pushes for Green Data Center and AI Safeguards 

IESR is calling on the central government, particularly the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Public Works, and the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, to establish stronger safeguards for AI and data center development.

The organization is urging the government to introduce AI and data center safeguard regulations that make environmental, social, and energy standards mandatory requirements for licensing. IESR also proposed requiring data centers across Indonesia to use waterless cooling or closed-loop cooling systems to prevent competition with drinking water and agricultural needs.

In addition, IESR proposed setting a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) target below 1.3, alongside IT equipment efficiency standards aimed at reducing energy consumption across data centers.

The organization also called for data centers to directly use renewable energy, with a minimum target of 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040. This could be achieved through onsite renewable generation or renewable power purchase agreements rather than relying solely on certificates.

IESR said the proposed targets are aligned with Indonesia’s National Energy Policy under Government Regulation No. 40/2025, which targets a 36–40 percent share of new and renewable energy in the national energy mix by 2040. Given their large energy requirements and strong access to capital, data centers, IESR argued, should move toward renewable energy adoption faster rather than adding pressure to national targets.

“Indonesia wants to become a regional data center hub. That is an opportunity, but only if the data centers being developed are water-efficient, energy-efficient, and powered by renewable energy. Otherwise, we risk bearing the emissions and water pressures associated with serving global computing demand. The government needs to act quickly before dozens of similar projects become locked into lower standards,” Fabby said.

IESR said it is ready to support both central and local governments in developing green data center standards designed to protect communities, the environment, and the climate.

Conclusion 

The Jatiluhur case highlights the need to balance Indonesia’s growing AI and data center industry with environmental sustainability, energy reliability, and public interests. IESR is calling for stronger national safeguards and green data center standards to ensure future digital infrastructure development is more water-efficient, energy-efficient, and increasingly powered by renewable energy.

Read more: Assessing the Environmental Impact of AI Data Center Development in Jatiluhur