Indonesia's Growing Interest in Nuclear Energy Security

Indonesia is increasingly showing interest in nuclear energy as a means to enhance its energy security and support industrial development. This growing consideration aligns with the trend observed in Northeast Asian countries like Japan and South Korea, which are re-evaluating nuclear power to meet the surging electricity demands from rapidly expanding sectors such as data centers and the semiconductor industry. Following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, nuclear power faced a period of skepticism in these nations. However, the high dependence on energy imports, volatility in global energy markets, and the imperative for climate action have accelerated a reassessment, recognizing nuclear power as a crucial pillar of national energy mixes. In Japan, under Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's "Green Transformation (GX)" policy, the restart of reactors cleared by regulators and the development of next-generation designs are explicitly being pursued. Early 2026 is slated to see the restart of Unit 6 at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's largest nuclear facility by capacity—a political development that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. This move is underpinned by a clear signal that Tokyo now considers nuclear energy indispensable to its industrial policy, particularly with over a trillion yen in new funding for data center and semiconductor facilities requiring electricity from renewable or nuclear sources. South Korea is on a similar trajectory. Despite initial skepticism towards nuclear power during his campaign, President Lee Jae-myung reversed course upon confronting strong public support for nuclear energy and a boom in electricity demand driven by AI-driven data centers. The South Korean government aims for nuclear power to constitute nearly 32 percent of its energy mix by 2030 and over 35 percent by 2038, identifying small modular reactors (SMRs) and nuclear fusion as future growth engines. South Korea's reactor technology is already competitive internationally, evidenced by contracts such as the one to build two APR-1000 reactors in the Czech Republic. For Indonesia, these developments in Northeast Asia could serve as an impetus to re-examine the potential of nuclear energy for stabilizing its energy supply, maintaining and enhancing industrial competitiveness, and achieving its decarbonization goals. However, the issue of spent nuclear fuel management, which these countries are grappling with, will undoubtedly be a critical challenge that Indonesia must address if it considers nuclear adoption. Source: The Diplomat Indonesia