The idea to develop Indonesia's first nuclear energy plant has been around since the 1970, but the project has gone in and out of fashion as political factions have come and gone. After backing off from the proposal during his re-election campaign, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Government appears to be again pressing forward with the power plant plan. However, local opposition to the proposal is strong, and there are considerable risks to consider.

Presenter: Beverley Wang

Speakers: Lilo Sunaryo, hotel manager and environmental activist; Dr Hudi Hastowo, chairman, BATAN; Professor Richard Tanter, Nautilus Institute

Wang: Though the idea has been around for decades, local opposition and a shifting political landscape have kept nuclear power from advancing in Indonesia. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono supported nuclear power development during his first term in office. But he distanced himself from the proposal as he campaigned for re-election last year.

Following his victory and inauguration, government officials began renewing their calls that four, 1,000 megawatt plants be built. But local opposition to the nuclear power reactor, which would be built on plantation land in Jepara province on the north coast of Java, has drawn together business, environment and religious groups, including Nahdlatul Ulama, one of the largest Islamic groups in the world. Lilo Sunaryo is a hotel manager and local environmental activist in Jepara.

Sunaryo: The waste of NPP (nuclear power plant) is plutonium. Until now in the world, nobody, no government, can resolve the problem of plutonium. So I explain to the people around Muria here, the NPP get electricity but the other they have the waste which very dangerous for the people around where the NPP built.

Wang: Dr Hudi Hastowo, is chairman of Indonesia's national nuclear atomic energy agency, BATAN. He says increasing the electricity supply is vital to Indonesia's development, and that nuclear energy is a key part of the plan.

Hastowo: Could you tell me what kind of the alternatives if we recognise that we also have to reduce the CO2 emissions? This is very difficult for us because we are almost 240 million people. We will develop geothermal, we will develop all kinds of resources that we have, but we may say that nuclear power plant is inevitable.

Wang: The doctor says a previously stated goal of 2016 has now been abandoned, but he's still aiming for before the end of the decade.

Hastowo: I think between 2018, 2019 it is still possible.

Wang: Professor Richard Tanter of RMIT's Nautilus Institute has written extensively about Indonesia's nuclear energy plans, and says the government must consider the risks of building a nuclear power plant in an earthquake-prone location.

Tanter: Java and Sumatra as we know from the tsunami two years ago they are really part of the ring of fire it's a tectonically highly active part of the world. The Muria site was selected because it was probably the best amongst a very, very poor set of options. And recently seismic surveys have uncovered yet more seismic faults in the area. So this is giving experts some real concern.

Wang: Further, he says though Indonesia's burgeoning democracy has taken the right steps in splitting its national nuclear atomic energy agency, BATAN, from its national nuclear regulatory body, BAPETEN, the country's history of corruption in government must be taken into account.

Tanter: Indonesia has followed the appropriate advice from the IAEA and has ratified all the important agreements preparatory to starting an nuclear power plant. The difficulty is that corruption is very serious in Indonesia and it's made much more serious in this case following a corruption case inside BAPETEN itself two years ago when two senior officials along with a member of parliament went to jail for five or six years for a serious issue. So in other words there are real doubts about the regulatory of BAPETEN and other parts of the Indonesian system.

Wang: Radio Australia contacted BAPETEN's chairman, Dr As Natio Lasman, for an interview but he was not available. However in an interview last month with local media he was quoted as saying monitoring systems would refer to procedures of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Lasman: (translation) The monitoring system would consist of the monitoring of radiation facilities and nuclear installations. The entire system of supervision conducted by BAPETEN always refers to the procedures issued by the IAEA. However, the most important thing is that the community should not be exposed to its negative impacts.