By Godson Umejiego, Bureau Chief, The Americas
The US Trade and Development Agency has announced that it has awarded a grant to PLN Indonesia Power for technical assistance to help develop the country’s first small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant. Indonesia Power selected Oregon-based NuScale Power OVS, LLC to carry out the assistance in partnership with a subsidiary of Texas-based Fluor Corporation and Japan’s JGC Corporation. The proposed 462MW facility would utilize NuScale’s SMR technology and advance Indonesia’s clean energy transition.
“Indonesia has demonstrated a strong interest in partnering with the United States on its energy transition and identifying innovative and groundbreaking U.S. technology to advance its goals,” said USTDA’s Director, Enoh T. Ebong. “USTDA has a unique, catalytic role in advancing the development of some of the most ambitious and noteworthy infrastructure projects in Indonesia and emerging economies around the globe.”
USTDA’s assistance will assess the technical and economic viability of the proposed nuclear power plant, to be located in West Kalimantan. It will include a site selection plan, power plant and interconnection system design, preliminary environmental and social impact assessment, risk assessment, cost estimate and regulatory review.
“After 78 years of waiting, now is the time to achieve self-sufficiency in emission-free green energy,” said Indonesia Power’s president director, Edwin Nugraha Putra. “Through cooperation on technical assistance for the development of a small modular reactor, Indonesia Power, the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia, and NuScale, with support from USTDA, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia and PT PLN (Persero), have opened the gates to a new era of nuclear energy for electricity to light up Indonesia.”
US Ambassador to Indonesia, Sung Y. Kim, noted: “Today’s announcement of a strategic partnership to help Indonesia develop its small modular reactor nuclear clean energy program, as a key deliverable under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, is an important milestone in Indonesia’s efforts to achieve its climate goals while promoting sustainable economic growth.”
USTDA’s announcement took place during the Indo-Pacific Business Dialogue in Bali, Indonesia. The grant highlights how USTDA advances the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in collaboration with public and private sector partners across the region. USTDA’s grant also advances the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, the Just Energy Transition Partnership and the Net Zero World initiatives.
USTDA partnership with Indonesia Power supports a broader US government engagement with Indonesia on SMR adoption, including targeted support under the US Department of State’s Foundational Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of SMR Technology (FIRST) Programme.
