Delay on nuclear plant development hailed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Legislators hailed yesterday the government's
\nintention to push back the construction of a nuclear power plant
\nto 2020 or 2030, but environmentalists remain cautious over the
\nannouncement.<\/p>\n
Mire Laksmiari Priyonggo of the Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI) faction and her United Development Party (PPP) colleague
\nMuhammad Buang praised the government for "its wisdom to heed the
\npublic's concerns."<\/p>\n
But Indonesian Antinuclear Society activist Mohammad Anung and
\nenvironmental expert Iwan Kurniawan said the government
\nannouncement had not dispelled their fears, and insisted the
\nnuclear power plant plan should be scrapped completely.<\/p>\n
The four were commenting on a statement made Tuesday by State
\nMinister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie that the
\ngovernment might delay building a nuclear power station
\noriginally scheduled for 2003.<\/p>\n
The decision was taken following the finding of abundant
\nnatural gas reserves in Natuna, Irian Jaya and Kalimantan and the
\nrapid development of technology which boosts efforts to find new
\nenergy sources.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 26 the House of Representatives endorsed the
\ngovernment bill on nuclear power in a plenary session marred by
\nMire's walk-out. Environmental activists accused the government
\nof introducing the bill only to justify its plan to build a
\nnuclear power plant.<\/p>\n
Mire was in a cheerful mood yesterday, hailing Habibie as an
\nhonest scientist who had admitted that nuclear power as an old-
\nfashioned technology.<\/p>\n
"I'm relieved, because we now have ample time to find harmless
\nenergy sources. Or we can draw up a new bill to replace the one
\njust passed," Mire said.<\/p>\n
She suggested the government earmark funds for alternative
\nenergy studies.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia is rich in energy resources, but why has the
\ngovernment allocated such a big budget only for nuclear power
\nresearch?" she asked.<\/p>\n
The government has spent Rp 22 billion (US$9.2 million) since
\n1977 on preliminary studies for a nuclear power plant earmarked
\nfor a site near the dormant Mount Muria in Central Java. It is
\nexpected to generate 7,200 megawatts of electricity per day.<\/p>\n
Buang agreed with Mire, saying that the government had to
\nallocate a larger budget to build safe power stations and give
\nthe research jobs to the Habibie-led Agency for Technology
\nAssessment and Application (BPPT).<\/p>\n
"I don't think money will matter if it is intended for public
\nbenefit," Buang said.<\/p>\n
While approving the nuclear bill, the PPP faction had urged
\nthe government to pick nuclear power as the last option.<\/p>\n
Anung, also an activist of the Indonesian Forum for
\nEnvironment, said that Habibie's promise was not a guarantee the
\ngovernment would delay its plan for 20 years.<\/p>\n
"I'm doubtful about the government's statement because the
\nnewly endorsed bill does not say anything about nuclear energy as
\nthe last power supply alternative," Anung said.<\/p>\n
"I'm afraid the statement was just a government move to
\nappease nuclear protesters. We are facing politicians," he added.<\/p>\n
Habibie said Tuesday Indonesia currently had an excess supply
\nof electricity. The state-owned electricity company PLN has never
\nincluded nuclear power in its plans for electricity supply,
\narguing that it was unnecessary.<\/p>\n
Anung said that if PLN's scenario was valid, the
\nresponsibility now lay with the government to optimally employ
\nnon-nuclear power sources.<\/p>\n
He asked the President to delay signing the nuclear energy law
\npending a substantive revision of it.<\/p>\n
"The law must give the House more power in the decision-making
\nprocess of a nuclear power plant's construction, not just an
\nadvisory role," he said.<\/p>\n
Iwan, an expert in nuclear experimentation, echoed Anung's
\nanxiety, saying that BPPT had yet to reveal the results of its
\nstudies on nuclear feasibility in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"It's too early to predict that the government will revise its
\nplans," he said.<\/p>\n
"There remains a possibility that a nuclear power plant will
\nbe built due to the absence of scientific reasoning. If the
\ngovernment will not go ahead with its plan, why did it give the
\nnuclear energy bill such a high priority?" (amd)<\/p>\n
Treaty -- Page 2<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/delay-on-nuclear-plant-development-hailed-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }