JAKARTA: The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry says it has yet to issue a construction permit for the proposed Thorcon 500 nuclear power plant project on Kelasa Island, Bangka Belitung Islands.
The clarification comes after the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) approved PT Thorcon Power Indonesia’s (PT TPI) site evaluation submission on July 30.
The application had been lodged by the company on Jan 21. The ministry’s renewables director general, Eniya Listiani Dewi, explained that Bapeten’s decision did not equate to an official site permit from the ministry.
“No, no one has received a site permit,” she said in Jakarta. “All permits, planning, investment and operational matters will be led by the energy minister.”
Bapeten’s approval allows PT TPI to conduct further site evaluation activities in line with its submitted Site Evaluation Programme (PET) and Site Evaluation Management System (SMET).
According to Wiryono, Bapeten’s nuclear installation and material licensing director, the PET outlines a work plan for assessing the site’s resilience against external hazards to nuclear reactors.
This includes seismic risks, geotechnical conditions, volcanic activity, meteorological and hydrological factors, human-induced events and the potential dispersion of radioactive materials.
The SMET, on the other hand, provides the management framework for overseeing the entire site evaluation process. “Safety and security are the principles and foundation of all Bapeten oversight processes,” Wiryono said on Aug 7, as reported by Detik.
While Bapeten’s evaluation marks a significant step for Indonesia’s first potential commercial nuclear power project, the absence of an energy ministry site permit underscores the multi-layered regulatory process.
If approved, the Thorcon 500 nuclear power plant would be built on Kelasa Island and operate with advanced molten salt reactor technology, promising cleaner and more reliable baseload power.
Matt Wilkinson, the chief executive of ThorCon International Pte Ltd, said several regulatory steps remain before the company can begin producing electricity.
“We are pleased with the progress so far. Alongside the permit process, we are finalising our power plant design,” he said, as quoted by Dunia Energi.
“This will enable us to start construction in 2027, complete it in 2029, commence operations and fuelling in 2030, reach full capacity in 2031, and secure an operating licence in 2032.”
Indonesia aims to begin commercial operations of a small-scale nuclear power plant in 2032, seven years earlier than its initial target of 2039, as part of efforts to meet domestic energy demand while maintaining its net-zero commitment under the Paris Agreement.
National electricity demand is projected to rise by 50% by 2030 and to quintuple by 2060, posing a challenge for the incoming government of president Prabowo Subianto, which has pledged to phase out fossil energy sources within 15 years.
State-owned electricity firm PLN is working with companies from Japan and the United States to build nuclear power plants in Indonesia, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said last year.
Countries such as South Korea, Russia, France and China have also conveyed to president Prabowo their interest in supporting the country’s nuclear power development. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
