Jakarta. France is open to teaming up with Indonesia on nuclear power generation as the latter seeks to make use of this clean energy by 2032, according to a French diplomat.

Coal-reliant Indonesia is currently looking to develop other sources of clean and renewable energy to meet its electricity demand. Indonesia is eyeing to operate its first 250-megawatt nuclear power plant by 2032. President Prabowo Subianto recently said Indonesia sought to reach net zero emission by 2050, a decade earlier than what his predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had targeted. France, which uses nuclear power to supply 70 percent of its electricity supply, is willing to lend Indonesia a hand.

“We know that Indonesia is working on its energy transition,” French Ambassador to Indonesia Fabien Penone told reporters in his Jakarta residence.

“We are looking at opportunities to work with the government, if the [Indonesian] government wants to work with us,” he added.

The envoy did not go into more details on what sort of deal France would be open to have with Indonesia on nuclear energy. But in 2022, the national research agency BRIN revealed it was exploring a possible cooperation with France on improving Indonesia’s reactors.

At present, Indonesia has three nuclear reactors in Yogyakarta, Serpong, and Bandung -- all dedicated for research purposes.

The Indonesian government has been engaging with countries that are already operating nuclear reactors. PLN Indonesia Power, the subholding of the state utility firm, has partnered with American small modular reactor company NuScale. A feasibility study to develop a small modular reactor in West Kalimantan is underway. The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) also provides a $2.3 million grant to help Indonesia assess the technical and economic viability of this project. 

There are also ongoing talks between Indonesia and Russia, which is home to the world’s first floating nuclear reactor. During a Moscow trip earlier this year, Prabowo even nudged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin into striking a bilateral nuclear partnership. Prabowo also claimed to have spoken with the Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom. Russian diplomat Sergei Tolchenov said in August that Moscow was “ready” to help Indonesia tap into the low-emission electricity. 

The National Energy Council’s estimates show that Indonesia has 29 possible locations for nuclear power development. This includes North Sumatra’s Tanjung Balai, West Kalimantan’s Sambas, and Bali’s Gerokgak, to name a few.