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View all search resultsIndonesia's nuclear plans face reality check after Thorcon exit
Despite the country's oft-touted nuclear ambitions for energy security, progress has been slow among both domestic and foreign investors in terms of uptake as the years remaining until a 2032 online target tick away.
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Delegates gather at the Vienna International Centre in the Austrian capital on Sept. 25, 2023, as the 67th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference opens. (AFP/Alex Halada)
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ndonesia is courting several countries to build its first nuclear power plants, but none has submitted a site evaluation application with the country’s nuclear agency while one early private investor has already walked away, exposing a mismatch between government ambition and bureaucratic inertia.
The government is collaborating with major trading partners in hopes of getting a nuclear plan up and running by 2032 at the earliest.
According to Coordinating Downstream and Energy Transition Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, one of the nuclear power plants is slated to be located in Riau Islands province.
"We are currently conducting a study for a plant to be [situated] in the Riau Islands. This is part of our efforts to ensure energy security, and the details are still being calculated," Bahlil told a press conference on Oct. 26 in Jakarta.
The Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) said it had not received any applications or request for consultation related to site evaluation for the Riau Islands project.
According to Ishak, head of Bapeten’s legal, cooperation and public communication bureau: "The inclusion of a [potential power plant site] in a planning document does not necessarily indicate that the location has obtained approval in the nuclear safety aspects,” he told The Jakarta Post on Oct. 30, referring to the Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) of state electricity firm PLN.
“Every candidate site must still undergo an evaluation and approval process in accordance with applicable regulations," he emphasized.
