Nuclear Power Project Plan Worth IDR 17 Trillion

Illustration of nuclear plants (Doc. Antara)

YOGYAKARTA Indonesia is said to have a nuclear plant. The company that is planning a nuclear plant project worth IDR 17 trillion in Indonesia is PT ThorCon Power Indonesia (PT TPI).

There are several interesting things that should be known regarding the plan to build a nuclear energy plant that was conveyed during a press conference, last Tuesday, March 28, which is as follows.

The construction of nuclear energy plants in Indonesia requires considerable funds. According to Operations Director of PT ThorCon Power Indonesia Bob S Effendi, the investment needed to build the nuclear plant is US$ 1.2 billion or approximately Rp. 17 trillion. The funds will not use the state budget but will be obtained with the IPP (Independent Power Producer) scheme.

Bob S Effendi also said that the construction of the planning was not carried out in Indonesia but in Korea on the ship. After completion, the reactor ship will dock at the port of Gelasa Island, Bangka-Belitung Islands. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, related facilities will be built such as ports and non-visional test facilities.

"What is built here (Indonesia) is more for Classies Island, ports and also non-visional test facilities. So, most of the investments will be abroad (currently)," he said at a press conference at the office of the Nuclear Energy Supervisory Agency (BAPETEN), Central Jakarta.

The construction of a nuclear reactor on board the shipyard is because it is faster. In the future, after the PLTN operates, Bob said that his party did not rule out building factories in Indonesia.

Hingga saat ini belum ditentukan lokasi pembangunan pabrik untuk kebutuhan PLTN di Indonesia. Akan tetapi ada kemungkinan pabrik di Bangka Belitung yakni di Pulau Gelasa..

Plt. The head of the Nuclear Energy Supervisory Agency (BAPETEN), Sugeng West Sumatra, himself briefly explained the reason for choosing Gelasa Island as the location for the construction of the Indonesian Thorcon Power nuclear reactor. The consideration taken is that the island is far from a volcano and was recorded as not being rocked by a hundreds of years' earthquake. In addition, the potential for forest fires in the area is small.

"This will be seen by us one by one including the standards we use, the latest standards after the Fukushima tragedy," he said at the Bapeten Building, Tuesday.

Sugeng Sumbarjo explained that his party is targeting the operation of the Thorcon Molten Salt Reactor 500 MW (TMSR500) nuclear reactor commercially in 2032. For this year, his party will evaluate all documents related to the construction of the Thorcon Power Indonesia nuclear reactor.

After that, the process will proceed to the site permit, design permit, to the construction permit. This process will run until 2028. The next process is the nuclear reactor construction process which is carried out for one or two years, namely until 2030.

The next process of demonstration plant and it is hoped that 2032 can operate commercially. Of course, this target can be achieved as long as this schedule can be fulfilled everything properly," he said.

According to Sugeng, from the results of the review and regulatory framework, BAPETEN has given the view that the TMSR500 design takes into account mitigation of Fukushima accidents and other external dangers, and external hazards that usually occur in Indonesia.

In addition to the planned nuclear plant project of IDR 17 trillion, visit VOI.ID to get other interesting information.