Nuclear power, risk management and democratic accountability in Indonesia: Volcanic, regulatory and financial risk in the Muria peninsula nuclear power proposal

Richard Tanter, Arabella Imhoff and David Von Hippel of the Nautilus Institute write that Indonesia's handling of its proposal for a large nuclear power plant on the Muria peninsula in Central Java 'is a test of the power of public opinion in a new democracy and the capacity of government to assess risk appropriately and make key decisions transparently.' While noting other issues including proliferation risk, they concentrate on assessments of volcanic and seismic risk, regulatory risk, and financial risk. In each of these areas of risk assessment, they argue, there are very serious weaknesses that need to be addressed to ensure democratic accountability. Tanter, Imhoff and Von Hippel conclude that 'after almost a year in which electoral concerns drove advocacy for the project underground, a new and more powerful coalition of government players has emerged to move the proposal forward.' Southeast Asia looms large in talk of a 'global nuclear renaissance.' Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have all notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of their interest in developing nuclear electric power generation, and the IAEA has collaborated with the Philippines in a study of the possibility of finally turning on the scandal-ridden Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which was completed in 1984.1 Of these, the Indonesian plan to build four 1,000 MW plants on the Muria peninsula on the north coast of the densely populated - and seismically active -region of Central Java is the most advanced.2