Indonesia has a lot of areas which are free of earthquakes and tsunami which have been geologically proven for hundreds of years which are fit for the location of a nuclear power plant.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia needs to learn from the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident and find the safest site for its future nuclear power plant, Prof Dr Herliyani Suharto said.
The head of the International Network Program of the Indonesia Renewable Energy Community (METI) said here on Thursday "we must not only learn from the Fukushima incident that a power plant has a high risk and therefore we must not build it."
"On the contrary the incident must become a challenge for us to find the safest place (for the plant)," she said at a seminar on the aspects of safety and welfare of a nuclear power plant in Indonesia.
The researcher of renewable energy from the Technology Assessment and Implementation Agency (BPPT) said Indonesia has a lot of areas which are free of earthquakes and tsunami which have been geologically proven for hundreds of years which are fit for the location of a nuclear power plant.
Based on Law Number 17 of 2007 on Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJM) Indonesia must have a nuclear power plant by 2016/2017.
The plant has actually been built as of two years ago, head of the Association of Indonesian Nuclear Community (HIMNI), Markus Wauran, said.
"Regrettably the government has not been consistent and kept changing its stand while it has actually been clear that the national energy reserves could not last longer," he said.
A member of the National Energy Council (DEN), Dr Herman Agustiawan, meanwhile expressed regret over the rejection of nuclear power plants by a number of people. He said they rejected but gave no solution to overcome energy demand in the future which would be very huge.
"Indonesia needs huge energy supply which should be met immediately, 5 to 15 years, or maximally 20 years. So what other solutions for it apart from a nuclear power plant which could be built once with a big capacity," he said.
He said it would be sorrowful to see Indonesia to have to burn coal as many 3.5 million tons a year for coal-fired power plants like the 20GW First and Second Phase Project and how serious the pollution that the people in Java would inhale from it.
Right now he said the Indonesian people could only enjoy 600 kWh of electricity per capital per year while Malaysia up to 3,000 kWh, Japan 8,000 kWh and the US 14,000 kWh.
"While we wish to build a mass rapid transport system our electricity capacity is not enough meanwhile new industries are still waiting for distribution. We have so far often experienced outages so what would the situation become if we wish to increase development," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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