Indonesia is exploring two sites on which to develop its first nuclear power plants as part of the nation’s shift from coal.
The first is in West Kalimantan, near where the new capital city of Nusantara would be, due its low earthquake risk, local government support and electricity demand, said Dadan Kusdiana, director-general of new and renewable energy and energy conservation at the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
The second option is Bangka-Belitung islands for similar reasons.
“Nuclear is going to be a source of baseload power, the same class as geothermal and hydropower,” Kusdiana said in an interview in Jakarta. “Intermittent sources can grow first, but this clean baseload power will follow.”
Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are often the most intermittent, while geothermal, hydropower and nuclear plants supply steady generation.
Nuclear power is being revived in Asia as costs of natural gas and coal soar.
Japan and South Korea are removing policies that limit nuclear power, while China and India are looking to build more reactors.
Indonesian policymakers are pushing for a clean energy bill to pave the way for its first nuclear power plant by 2045.
US companies Nuscale Power LLC and Fluor Corp along with Japan’s JGC Foundation would help Indonesia build a proposed 462 megawatt reactor in West Kalimantan.
A unit of US-based Thorcon has sent in a consultation paper to local authorities as part of a licensing process for a nuclear reactor, while Russia’s Rosatom State Corp has offered to build a floating plant.
The earliest commercial-scale nuclear reactor would likely start operating in 2039, Kusdiana said.
“Other than the long preparation, there needs to be a big demand,” he said.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was