President says nuclear power plant not a priority

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Bogor, West Java | Sat, 06/19/2010 11:58 AM

Despite the country's heavy dependence on fossil fuel, the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is in no hurry to construct a nuclear power generator.

Yudhoyono said Friday there was no definitive plan to set up such a power plant under his administration although there was a discussion for setting one up on the coast of Jepara in Central Java.

"Maybe the next administration will consider such a plan should there be an urgent need for an alternative energy source," he said.

Yudhoyono reiterated that construction of a nuclear power plant would require meticulous planning as any mistake would have devastating consequences.

"Looking at alternatives to fossil fuels, the administration would focus more on developing power plants fueled by geothermal energy, wind, solar and biofuels," he said.

The administration of Megawati Soekarnoputri in early 2004 had initiated the construction of a nuclear generator, which was slated for completion by 2020.

Early in his first tenure, Yudhoyono had pledged to continue with the plan and made trips to several nuclear power plant contractors in South Korea in 2006.

The government also signed a deal with South Korea, Russia and the US to supply Indonesia with uranium for peaceful purposes.

However, neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Australia have reportedly raised concerns over the plan, saying that once Indonesia managed to construct the plant, the nation would be a step closer to producing nuclear weapons.

The government has also faced criticism from local NGOs and Greenpeace, which staged a rally in the middle of 2007 in Central Java, calling for the termination of the nuclear reactor plan.

With the power plant plans likely to be shelved indefinitely, the government has yet to prepare any serious efforts to accelerate the development of alternative energy.

Analysts have partly blamed bureaucracy problems and energy subsidies for discouraging efforts to develop alternative energy, providing no incentives to use energy in an efficient way as well as failing to make energy conservation a habit in society.

There are also restrictions on the state budget to finance other sectors, including the construction of energy infrastructure, which is a higher priority.

The government this year will spend more than US$5.8 billion on subsidizing electricity, more than half of which will go to diesel for fueling power plants.

Diesel accounts for only around 23 percent of the fuel to run power plants.