Indonesia Targets Commercial Operation of Nuclear Power Plants by 2032
This article was first published on AsiaToday.id on 17 June 2024.
The Indonesian government continues to accelerate in the development of nuclear energy by accelerating the target for commercial operation of nuclear power plants to 2032, from the previous deadline of 2039 as stated in the national zero carbon emissions roadmap.
The Indonesian government has established communication with global partners in the development of nuclear energy starting from Russia, Japan, South Korea and the United States (US).
“Communication with Russia has been going on for a long time. We also communicate with Japan, Korea and the United States. Our communication is open to everyone, when the time comes we will choose the best,” explained Secretary General of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dadan Kusdiana, quoted on Sunday, 16 June 2024.
​Dadan said, to realize the development of nuclear energy in Indonesia, there are 16 requirements that must be met. Of the total requirements, 14 have been fulfilled and there are still two more requirement points that must be met.
“Of the 16 requirements, we have 2 remaining, namely NEPIO (Nuclear Energy Program Implementing Organization) and Go Nuclear. “In this context, the Government must declare Go Nuclear, whether there is a Presidential Regulation or what, because we are not yet discussing this with Nepio,” said Dadan.
Dadan revealed that to date, public acceptance of the development of nuclear power plants is above 60% and this is data recorded 4 years ago. In March 2024, the Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Arifin Tasrif, issued new regulations to accelerate the development of nuclear power plants in Indonesia.
​These regulations are contained in the Decree of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Number 34.K/HK.02/MEM/2024 concerning Amendments to the Decree of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Number 250.K/HK.02/MEM/2021 concerning the Nuclear Preparation Team Energy Program Implementing Organization.
The issuance of this new decision was carried out to prepare for the formation of an organization that will be responsible for coordinating the accelerated development of nuclear power plants in Indonesia, namely the Nuclear Energy Program Implementing Organization (NEPIO).
It was explained that based on the previous decision, the preparatory team for the formation of NEPIO had carried out its duties in the context of establishing the implementing organization in question and had prepared academic studies and draft legal regulations regarding the formation of NEPIO, up to coordinating the proposal for its determination to the relevant agencies.
However, in the development of the process, the formation of NEPIO still needs to be further in-depth regarding its effectiveness so that the preparation process for the formation of this body still takes time to be finalized.
Meanwhile, the ministerial decree issued on February 27 2024 changed several provisions regarding the duties and term of duty of the preparatory team for the formation of NEPIO. The amended points are in Article 1 which amends the second decision in the Decree of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources No. 250.K/HK.02/2021.
In the latest regulation, there is no preparatory team to prepare academic studies related to the nuclear energy implementing program organization or NEPIO. The latest belief also changes that initially the preparatory team was assigned to draft a Presidential Regulation, now they are assigned to draft legal regulations related to the formation of NEPIO.
​Furthermore, this ministerial decree also changes the working period of the preparatory team for the formation of NEPIO, which was initially assigned until 31 December 2023, now extending its term of duty until the formation of NEPIO.
