Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency has said that it is planning to construct nuclear power plants in the 2030s in an effort to manage power supply for the nation’s growing capacity.
The government is currently processing the related data, which shows that the country can start developing in the 2030s, the head of BRIN’s Nuclear Energy Research Organization, Rohadi Awaludin, said.
“This is still under discussion by various parties, namely by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the National Development Planning Agency,” he informed.
According to data, Indonesia can start building nuclear power plants in the next decade, he said. “But we do not know yet when, either the beginning or end of the 2030s, because (the data) is not final,” he added.
He said that nuclear power plants with two types of capacity can be constructed in the country, namely small-capacity plants intended for administrative areas with a small population and large-capacity plants to supply energy to urban areas.
Small-capacity PLTNs can generate power in the range of 100–200 megawatts (MW), and the large ones can produce up to 1 thousand MW of electricity, he informed.
“Small remote areas need (PLTNs) that have a smaller capacity, while big cities need larger nuclear power plants. The big ones have the capacity of (generating) 1 thousand MW, while the small ones are 100–200 MW, or some are even below 100 MW,” he said.
In addition, he observed that the electric power generated from nuclear power plants is more stable and sustainable adding that they could minimize power outages due to power shortages.
Another advantage of using nuclear power plants instead of fossil fuel power plants is that they do not emit carbon dioxide, he added.
