Quake-Prone Indonesia Pursues Nuclear Power
From Time
Rising alarm at the spread of radiation throughout Japan’s water supply has not deterred one of its major trading partners from going ahead with its nuclear ambitions. Indonesia’s National Nuclear Energy Agency, also known as Batan, announced on Monday that it had narrowed down the list of bidders for a feasibility study it plans to conduct for two nuclear reactors. The winner of the tender, either PT Surveyor Indonesia or PT Wiratman Associates, will be decided by the end of April, says Batan spokesman Ferhat Aziz. “It should take around three years for the study to be completed,” he added. “After that, if the plan gets approved, another tender process to build it will take place.”
More than two weeks into Japan’s nuclear crisis, Indonesia’s decision to press ahead with its nuclear power plans has rattled many here. A 2006 regulation stipulates that 5% of the country’s electricity should come from nuclear and other renewable sources but energy experts and politicians say there are far safer alternatives than nuclear. “We should think twice in light of the catastrophe in Japan. If it can happen there imagine what would happen here where standards are lower and corruption is still rampant,” says Bara Hasibuan, the National Mandate Party”s head of foreign relations. “On top of it all this country is very prone to earthquakes.”
