“So, the technology offered is from China or Russia,” Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Yuliot Tanjung, said here on Friday.
The construction of nuclear power plants is part of the government’s commitment to increasing new and renewable energy utilization.
Under the 2025–2034 Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL), the target for additional power plant capacity has been set at 69.5 gigawatts (GW).
To meet this target, the government is planning to build NPPs with a total capacity of 500 megawatts (MW): 250MW in Sumatra and 250MW in Kalimantan.
“So, for this 500MW (capacity of NPPs), we will try to see whether to use SMR (small modular reactor) or large-scale technology,” Tanjung said.
While exploring cooperation with South Korea, it was found that Seoul used large-scale technology for developing such plants, he added.
Currently, Indonesia is looking for references for countries that are using SMR technology.
Therefore, the government has not yet determined which country will be Indonesia’s partner in developing the NPPs.
“We are considering technology first. Looking for technology that is appropriate, there is also a TKDN (domestic component level) requirement of around 40 percent,” he informed.
In addition, the government is preparing a regulation to process uranium. Indonesia’s West Kalimantan region holds significant uranium reserves.
Based on the Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) of state-owned electricity company PT PLN for the 2025–2034 period, the potential energy sources in West Kalimantan are uranium, hydropower, biomass, biogas, and coal.
Uranium is the main fuel in nuclear reactors. According to the RUPTL, the uranium potential of Melawi District, West Kalimantan, is 24,112 tons.
However, the use of nuclear as primary energy is still awaiting a policy regulation from the government, backed by a feasibility study on the construction of NPPs.
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Translator: Putu Indah Savitri, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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