Rising alarm at the spread of radiation throughout Japan’s water
supply has not deterred one of its major trading partners from going
ahead with its nuclear ambitions. Indonesia’s National Nuclear Energy
Agency, also known as Batan, announced on Monday that it had narrowed
down the list of bidders for a feasibility study it plans to conduct
for two nuclear reactors. The winner of the tender, either PT Surveyor
Indonesia or PT Wiratman Associates, will be decided by the end of
April, says Batan spokesman Ferhat Aziz. “It should take around three
years for the study to be completed,” he added. “After that, if the
plan gets approved, another tender process to build it will take
place.”
More than two weeks into Japan’s nuclear crisis, Indonesia’s decision
to press ahead with its nuclear power plans has rattled many here. A
2006 regulation stipulates that 5% of the country’s electricity should
come from nuclear and other renewable sources but energy experts and
politicians say there are far safer alternatives than nuclear. “We
should think twice in light of the catastrophe in Japan. If it can
happen there imagine what would happen here where standards are lower
and corruption is still rampant,” says Bara Hasibuan, the National
Mandate Party’s head of foreign relations. “On top of it all this
country is very prone to earthquakes.”
Indeed, more than 170,000 Indonesians lost their lives in the 2004
tsunami caused by an earthquake smaller than the 9.0 quake that jolted
the northeast of Japan. On average, the country experiences 90 natural
disasters per year and, in 2010, recorded 110 disasters, according to
Sujana Royat, deputy to the Coordinating Minister for People’s
Welfare.
There are questions, too, about whether the country can bear the cost
of expensive reactors. Developing an Indonesian nuclear program is
expected to cost up to $4 billion. “Indonesia has enough energy
sources that could not only take care of domestic consumption but
could eventually be exported as well,” said Al Hilal Hamdi, the former
head of the government’s task force on biofuel development, who is now
developing a number of mini-hydro plants around the country. He added
that it made little sense to build the plants in Bangka-Belitung, off
the coast of Sumatra, when 80% of the country’s electricity is
consumed on Java, the country’s most-populous island. “Indonesia is
not like Japan which has very little in the way of renewable energy
sources,” he said. “Indonesia has billions tons of coals still left in
the ground along with tremendous geothermal and hydro potential.”
Batan’s spokesman says the location off Sumatra was chosen for safety
reasons and that underwater cables would eventually transmit the
electricity, depending on the study’s conclusions.
The prospect of dealing with radioactive waste is another cause for
concern in a country that is already struggling to cope with mountains
of garbage, much of which clogs major city streets and waterways.
“Indonesia is considering the use of fissile materials in its power
plants and dealing with hazardous waste is going to be a problem,”
adds Hilal. “Everybody is in favor of more electricity but when it
comes to building a nuclear power plant, nobody wants one in their
backyard.”
