Indonesian Government Adamant about Nuclear Plants

Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. It is where the continental plates meet causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. And, because of all this, I am stunned that the Indonesian Government is persistent in building nuclear plants.

The government will continue its efforts to build a nuclear power plant, despite mounting opposition from environmental groups and rightly so. I think nuclear plants look bloody ugly!.

It appears that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made it a national policy to start building a nuclear power plant in 2010 and start operation in 2016. Perhaps the president hasn’t heard of Chernobyl, or taken into consideration that his country sits on a volatile region.

The minister for this Indonesian Armageddon, Kusmayanto, emphasized that Indonesia’s nuclear program was for peaceful purposes and being supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He said they are working closely with IAEA, which will also give us recommendations on where to build the nuclear plant. We still have to study the seismic stability of any site.

Two sites are being mooted for the nuclear plant. One possible site would be near Mt. Muria in Jepara regency, Central Java, and another would be on Madura Island off East Java.