In the future, Indonesia is expected to have its first nuclear power plant in operation by 2030. The proposed site for this nuclear power plant is located on Gelasa Island in the Bangka Belitung Islands region.
The project is being planned by PT ThorCon Power Indonesia, whose Chief Operating Officer, Bob S. Effendi, announced that the first steel cutting for the project is scheduled to take place in November 2024. This was revealed during the Energy Transition Conference & Exhibition 2023 event in Jakarta (October 19).
Furthermore, Bob predicted that the nuclear power plant unit would arrive in Indonesia by 2027. In addition, he also aims to obtain an operating license from the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) in 2029.
Bob also explained that this project will require an investment of around US$900 million or the equivalent of Rp14 trillion (at an exchange rate of Rp15,700). This investment figure is lower than the original plan of US$ 1.2 billion or Rp 18.8 trillion.
In addition, he also revealed that the planned nuclear power plant, as the first nuclear power plant candidate in Indonesia, will have a capacity of about 500 megawatts (MW).
Nevertheless, this private power generation company from the US stated that they are still waiting for the approval of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) before they can start the project to build a nuclear power plant (PLTN) using thorium in Indonesia.
In this regard, Bob explained that they are currently waiting for the ratification of the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) as the legal basis for the construction of nuclear power plant projects in Indonesia.
The business license for the nuclear power plant itself has already been granted by the government. However, it is still very important to have a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) as a strong legal basis to support this project. Equally important is the release of the revised National Energy Policy (KEN) and the establishment of the Nuclear Energy Program Implementation Organization (NEPIO).
Although they are still waiting for the Presidential Regulation on the Project Licensed Thermal Nuclear (PLTN) Development Project, Bob remains optimistic that the PLTN to be built by ThorCon will be the first PLTN in Indonesia. They hope to start commercial operation in 2030.
Source: CNBC
