Fossil fuel-dependent Indonesia plans to build nuclear power plants with the capacity of about 4 gigawatts (GW) in a bid for cleaner energy, an adviser to President Prabowo Subianto said on Friday.
Indonesia’s current installed power capacity is more than 90 GW, with more than half of that powered by coal and less than 15% by renewables. It currently has no nuclear capacity, a controversial topic in a country prone to earthquakes.
Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Prabowo’s brother and close adviser, told a sustainability forum that Indonesia would also build floating small modular reactors, without providing the time-frame or how many. Another official said last year it was looking to operate nuclear plants in 2036.
“This is all an answer to the challenges posed by climate change,” he said.
While nuclear power stations do not emit carbon dioxide, they generate toxic waste that some governments and campaigners say means atomic energy should not be classed as green.
During his address, Hashim also criticised the G7’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) unveiled in 2022, which promised Indonesia $20 billion to cut its emission. Disbursements of the such funds have been minimal, he said.
“JETP is a failed programme,” he added.
Hashim also said Prabowo’s government would not shut all coal power plants in 2040, adding it would just stop building new ones.
Indonesia is the world’s biggest thermal coal exporter and coal power generation is among the country’s emissions sources.
Source: Reuters
