The program for nuclear power in Indonesia includes plans to build nuclear reactors in the country for peaceful purposes. Indonesia prohibited development of nuclear weapon or any offensive uses due to signing the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...

on 2 March 1970 and ratified it as Law No. 8/1978 on 18 December 1978. The current legislation regulating the utilization, research, and development of nuclear power in Indonesia is Law No. 10/1997. With this law, the national nuclear energy regulatory and oversight agency, '' Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir'' (BAPETEN, English: Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency), was founded in 1998. While

National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

(Indonesian: ''Badan Tenaga Nuklir Nasional'', BATAN) was the state nuclear research and development agency established in 1958 and revitalized through the law. Prior the 2021 science and technology reformation, BATAN took role as the state nuclear research and development agency. Since 2021,

National Research and Innovation Agency The National Research and Innovation Agency ( id, Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, BRIN) is a cabinet-level government agency formed by the Indonesian government in 2019. Originally a new agency attached to the Ministry of Research and Technolo ...

(Indonesian: ''Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional'', BRIN) is the state nuclear research and development agency after BATAN relinquished its power and rights to BRIN and liquidation of BATAN. BRIN exercise its role in execution of state nuclear research and development activities through its Research Organization for Nuclear Energy (Indonesian: ''Organisasi Riset Tenaga Nuklir'', ORTN).

History

In 1954, research on atomic energy began in Indonesia. Apart from producing electricity, nuclear technology is also used for medical and agricultural purposes and for food safety. Plans for an atomic program were scaled back in 1997 due to the discovery of the Natuna gas field but have since revived since 2005.ABC News
Thousands protest against Indonesian nuclear plant
12 June 2007. According to Presidential Decree Five in 2006, Indonesia should have four nuclear-power plants built by 2025. Their total capacity will be at least 4,000 MW of electricity, about 1.96 percent of projected electricity demand in 2025 (200,000 to 350,000 MW). Indonesia has stated that the program will be developed in accordance with the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...

(IAEA), and

Mohammed ElBaradei Mohamed Mustafa ElBaradei ( ar, محمد مصطفى البرادعي, Muḥammad Muṣṭafá al-Barādaʿī, ; born 17 June 1942) is an Egyptian law scholar and diplomat who served as the vice president of Egypt on an interim basis from 14 July ...

was invited to visit the country in December 2006. Protests against plans for nuclear power were held in June 2007 in central Java, and increased in mid-2007. In December 2013 it was reported that Indonesia was planning to begin constructing a reactor in 2015. In February 2014 the Indonesian Government confirmed that it was planning to construct a 30MW reactor in the near future. However, as of December 2015, Indonesia will not resort to nuclear energy to meet its target of 136.7 gigawatt of power capacity by 2025 and 430 gigawatt by 2050. In August 2016, CNEC and BATAN agreed to jointly develop a

HTGR A high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), is a nuclear reactor that uses a graphite moderator with a once-through uranium fuel cycle. The HTGR is a type of high-temperature reactor (HTR) that can conceptually have an outlet temperature of ...

in Indonesia. On 1 September 2021, BATAN dissolved and replaced by ORTN of BRIN.

Indonesia and International Nuclear co-operation

Indonesia is a member of the IAEA, and a signatory to the NPT.

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

On 6 December 2011 the Indonesian Parliament ratified the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nati ...

(CTBT). Indonesia agreed not to conduct nuclear-weapons testing, but nuclear power plants are unaffected.

Cooperation with other countries

In 2006 Indonesia signed treaties for nuclear cooperation with a number of countries, including

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Australia has indicated its willingness to supply Indonesia with uranium for peaceful purposes. A well-publicized agreement with a Russian company to build a floating nuclear reactor in Gorontalo ran aground; Indonesia has since made it clear that it wants a higher-capacity nuclear power plant, and will construct a land-based plant. In mid-2014, BATAN and

's state-owned

Rosatom Rosatom, ( rus, Росатом, p=rɐsˈatəm}) also known as Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom or Rosatom State Corporation, is a Russian state corporation headquartered in Moscow that special ...

have signed an agreement for developing the (30MW) Indonesia's first nuclear power plant.

IAEA appraisal

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) considers Indonesia ready to develop nuclear energy in a statement issued in November 2009. Its appraisal considered four readiness aspects: human resources, stakeholders, industry and regulations. The Indonesian Nuclear Board (BATAN) has carried out research since the 1980s.

Reactor locations

For research purposes, the following experimental nuclear reactors have already been built in Indonesia: # Kartini nuclear research reactor in

Sleman Sleman is a '' kapanewon'' (regency district) and the seat capital of Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is on the road between Yogyakarta and Magelang. Sleman has five villages, namely Caturharjo, Pandowoharjo, Tridadi, T ...

, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta # MPR RSG-GA Siwabessy nuclear research reactor in Serpong, Banten # Triga Mark III nuclear research reactor in

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

According to an observer, Indonesia is capable of building a nuclear reactor in every province due to ample materials and geological support. As a tin-mining area,

monazite Monazite is a primarily reddish-brown phosphate mineral that contains rare-earth elements. Due to variability in composition, monazite is considered a group of minerals. The most common species of the group is monazite-(Ce), that is, the ceriu ...

exists throughout Bangka and Belitung island. Nearly 183 tons of monazite sediment was found in Mount Muntai, sufficient for nuclear power plants which will be built in West and South Bangka. BATAN continues searching for uranium sources and suitable sites for nuclear power plants. Bangka Belitung is geologically stable and near the country's greatest electricity-consuming regions:

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

and

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

. Local residents are more receptive to hosting a nuclear power plant, compared with other locations. Although local residents were opposed, BATAN was still considering the previously studied locations of Mount Muria, Jepara, Central Java and Serang, Banten. In July 2011, the Bangka Belitung governor requested the government to continue its plans for nuclear power plants in the

Muntok Muntok () or, more commonly, Mentok is a town in the Indonesian province of Bangka-Belitung on the island of Sumatra. The capital of West Bangka Regency (''Bangka Barat''), it is the site of the biggest tin smelter on the world. Mentok refers ...

and Permis areas between 2025 and 2030. The two plants will produce two gigawatts of electricity at a cost of Rp 70 trillion ($8.2 billion), producing 40 percent of electricity needs in Sumatra, Java and Bali. Several locations have been proposed for nuclear reactors to generate electricity: #Cape Muria, Kudus (

Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakart ...

) #

Gorontalo Gorontalo ( Gorontaloan: ''Hulontalo'') is a province of Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi. Located on the Minahasa Peninsula, Gorontalo was formerly part of the province of North Sulawesi until its inauguration as a separate province on ...

, in northern

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu ...

Bangka Belitung The Bangka Belitung Islands ( id, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung) is a province of Indonesia. Situated off the southeastern coast of Sumatra, the province comprises two main landmasses— Bangka and Belitung—and numerous smaller islands. Bangka Beli ...

province (two plants with a total capacity of 18 GW) #

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

Concerning the Fukushima accident, an Indonesian geodesics lecturer stated that while most of Japan was earthquake-prone, Indonesia has many quake-free areas in Kalimantan, Bangka-Belitung, northern Java (a populous area) and Irian.

Proposals

A physics lecturer from Airlangga University has stated that the need for electricity continues to increase, while fossil-fuel reserves are being depleted; Indonesia is ready and able to develop a nuclear-power plant. Nuclear experts have conducted nuclear research since the 1970s. The Indonesian Nuclear Energy Regulation Agency BAPETEN has confirmed that seven nuclear supervisors were on IAEA missions in several countries (including one in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

), and Indonesia is ready to operate nuclear power plants as soon as those facilities are built. Despite the

Fukushima nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 ...

, Indonesia is unlikely to halt its plan to build its first nuclear-power plant due to an electricity crisis. A nuclear-energy development head at Indonesia's National Nuclear Energy Agency said that concerns about a disaster such as Japan's were misplaced; plants in Indonesia would use more advanced technology than the four-decade-old reactors at the Fukushima plant in Japan. Modern plants are designed to operate in the circumstances of total power failure like that experienced at Fukushima, relying on

passive safety Automotive safety is the study and practice of design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design. ...

systems that do not require electricity to function. P3Tek, an agency within the department of energy, has recommended the TMSR-500 molten salt reactor by ThorCon. The TMSR-500 is fueled by a mix of uranium and thorium.

Natural resources

Indonesia has at least two

uranium mine Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account ...

s: the Remaja-Hitam and Rirang-Tanah Merah mines, located in western

(

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and e ...

). If these prove insufficient, the country may import uranium. The latest 2022 ORTN estimate predicted that Indonesia has 90,000 tonnes of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

reserves (from hypothetic category to definite category) and 150,000 tonnes

thorium Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is silvery and tarnishes black when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high ...

reserves (all in hypothetic category). Mostly Uranium found in

West Kalimantan West Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city is Pontianak. The province has an area of 147,307&nbs ...

and the rest in Papua,

and

West Sulawesi West Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the western side of Sulawesi island. It covers an area of 16,787.18 km2, and its capital is Mamuju. The 2010 Census recorded a population of 1,158,651, while ...

, while Thorium found mostly in

and the rest in

. In

Mamuju Regency Mamuju Regency is a regency ( id, kabupaten Mamuju) of West Sulawesi province, Indonesia. The regency capital is at Karema, while Mamuju town is the capital of West Sulawesi. The population of the regency was 336,879 at the 2010 Census, but it w ...

, West Sulawesi, Uranium is detected about 100–1.500 ppm (part per million) and Thorium about 400–1.800 ppm. Singkep district, Mamuju Regency has the highest Gamma Radiation in Indonesia. To commercialize the uranium and other radioactive materials, first parliament should amend the Law No. 10/1997 on Nuclear Energy which does not allow domestic or foreign investors to exploit radioactive resources for commercial purposes (just for research purposes). However, for 25 years after the law passed, not much significant development on exploration and exploitation of nuclear mineral resources in Indonesia by Indonesian companies. On end of 2022, Joko Widodo signed two key documents, Government Regulation No. 42/2022 on 1 November 2022 and Government Regulation No. 52/2022 on 8 December 2022, enabling exploration and exploitation of nuclear minerals by Indonesian companies and foreign companies.

reported to be interested to invest in this industry after the issuance of the regulations.

Controversy

Indonesia's nuclear plans have met with criticism from

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

, other groups and individuals. In June 2007 nearly 4,200 protesters rallied in Central Java, calling on the government to abandon plans to build a nuclear power plant in their area. Specific concerns included the dangers posed by nuclear waste and the location of the country on the

Pacific Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring ...

, with geological activity (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) hazardous to nuclear reactors.

References

Sources

*''Nuclear Power Development in Indonesia'' by Soedyartomo Soentono, National Atomic Energy Agency, Indonesia. *''Indonesian Policy on the Development and Utilization of Nuclear Energy'' by M. Hatta Rajasa, State Minister for Research and Technology, Republic of Indonesia.
''Paper from 2003 that includes organograms of BAPETEN an BATAN''

External links

''Website of BAPETEN (Indonesian and English)''''Website van BATAN (Indonesian and English)''
{{Nuclear power by country Science and technology in Indonesia