No need to rush

No need to rush

Despite strong opposition from environmentalists, the
Indonesian parliament last week passed a bill which paves the way
for the country's first nuclear power plant to be built by the
turn of the century. President Soeharto has made no firm decision
yet to proceed with the project, but its strongest supporters are
putting the nuts and bolt in place quickly.

Whether Indonesia should rely on nuclear power for its future
energy needs is an issue that can be decided only by Indonesians
themselves. There are several key questions. Have the
alternatives been explored thoroughly? If conventional resources
such as oil, gas, coal, geothermal and solar energy are
available, does it make economic sense to go nuclear? Is the
seismologically-active Java island, prone to volcanic eruptions
and earthquakes, an appropriate place to build nuclear power
plants? How can environmental concerns be met? The debate so far
has been controversial because the proponents dwell largely on
the benefits of going nuclear, while the critics highlight the
dangers of radioactive fallout. What is obviously needed is
informed debate.

Former Mines and Energy Minister Subroto noted that Indonesia
has 60 sedimentary basins which could yield the equivalent of
48.4 billion barrels of petroleum and 6.5 trillion cubic meters
of natural gas. According to him, there are also proven coal
reserves of 4.6 billion tons and measured reserves of 36.6
billion tons. These are non-renewable resources, unlike nuclear
energy.

But Dr. Subroto has also pointed out that the great potential
for Indonesia is geothermal energy, which could generate 16,000
megawatts of energy if fully harnessed. It could thus be argued
that conventional resources are available to meet Indonesia's
energy needs for decades to come. It is clear at this stage, the
debate whether Indonesia should opt for nuclear energy is far
from settled. Environmentalists want the authorities to go slow
on this project and set up an independent body to examine the
issues, with some going so far as to demand a referendum on it.
In view of this, it is worthwhile for policy-makers to examine
all the pros and cons before making the next move.

-- The Straits Times, Singapore